Flames of Destiny
by Insane Blight
Summary: The battle with Orochi at Ryugenzawa did not go as planned as Ranma receives another curse. A curse that might bring about his own destruction and force him to lose everything he cares for.
1. Awakening Arc: Blood of the Demon rev

A Ranma ½ - King of Fighters crossover

** Disclaimer:** I don't own Ranma ½ and the King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick that's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Ugh… shutting up now…

**Flames of Destiny**  
By Insane Blight

**Blood of the Demon**

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Deep inside the forest of Ryugenzawa, the legendary beast Orochi let out a deafening roar, causing the oversized animals nearby to run away in a hurry. The monster just came to realize that the four people standing defiantly in front of it were nothing more than men wearing women's clothing. A familiar fanged boy as well as a certain pigtailed martial artist were among them, both wearing a nurse outfit and a school girl uniform respectively. Standing beside them was a fairly tall boy dressed as a policewoman, and an old man wearing a ridiculous wedding dress.

While the beast was busy glaring and growling at the four cross-dressers with heavy distaste, a familiar mallet-wielding girl, who was ironically dressed in a boy's outfit, anxiously searched for the moss that would cure her friend's illness. _'Where is it? Shinnosuke's life depends on that moss… I have to find it no matter what.'_

"Damn it, looks like the jig is up gramps," Ranma yelled as he started jumping around the place, hoping to avoid the oncoming serpent heads that would just love to feast on his flesh.

"It looks like it can't be helped anymore. We have to take it out ourselves!" the old man in a dress shouted to the three young men, hugging one of the nearby trees to avoid a furious serpent head.

Upon hearing this, Ryoga grinned and ripped out his nurse outfit. Finally! Cupping his hands, he began thinking about the worse possible things that he could imagine happening to get him depressed enough to launch his attack. _'Akane-san likes that Shinnosuke guy… Akane-san likes that damned Shinnosuke guy…'_ "I have nothing more to live for! Shi Shi Hokodan!"

Ranma also cupped his hands and began gathering energy, though the source for his attack was more of the opposite to that of the fanged martial artist's. _'I won't lose this battle… I'm the best there is, so there's absolutely no way I'd lose to the likes of you!'_ "I ain't gonna lose to a stinkin' snake! Mouko Takabisha!"

Both depression and confidence-based ki blasts darted towards the monstrosity that was the Orochi, with the blasts striking the massive beast dead center, producing mounds of dust and rising water as an aftereffect. Shielding their eyes from the dust hurdled at them, Ranma and Ryoga looked at the hopefully knocked out Orochi. What they found made them tremble. The currently seven-headed serpent stood before them, unharmed, its eyes brimming with unbridled fury.

"That kind of power still has no affect on it," Shinnosuke, the young man wearing the policewoman outfit, whispered in morbid fascination.

"What now, gramps? Our attacks aren't even dentin' this stupid thing!" the pigtailed boy yelled, shaking himself out of his frightened stupor.

As if there wasn't a problem in the world, the old man, who was Shinnosuke's grandfather, casually walked up to the angry pigtailed martial artist with a thoughtful look on his face as he eyed the case of beer placed underneath a large tree. "Hmm… my boy, I have a few beers for the upcoming celebration. Perhaps if we give those to Orochi, it would calm down a bit. It worked in the past before, so why don't we give it a try."

"I don't think that'll work old man. It's already seeing red! Trying to use beer… to…" Wasting no time, Ranma grabbed the case of beer and dashed at the rampaging monster. Sensing his approach, all seven heads turned their attention to him, pausing for a second before advancing at him with simultaneous roars. Seeing that things were going as planned, he furiously shook every beer bottle then threw them into the air, where he sliced off all of its tops with his hand. "Take this ugly! Shuku Shogan Tsu Homatsu Dan!"

The beers' foaming liquid struck all of the beast's eyes, eliciting a thunderous, pained howl. As the beast howled, the seven serpent heads recoiled back into the lake, surprising the four men watching. Ranma cracked his knuckles and cautiously approached the lake, intent on finishing the beast. He didn't get the chance, as he found himself hurled into the air the moment the ground underneath him exploded in a flurry of dirt and rocks.

As Ranma was sent flying back, the remaining people gathered watched in awe as Orochi's eight and final head appeared amidst the mounds of dust and debris. This serpent head was different from the rest, simply because it was almost triple the size of its brothers. The girl dressed in a boy's outfit gasped when she saw the moss of life sitting on top of the large serpent head. With renewed determination, she called out to her fiancée as she approached the monstrosity. "Keep it busy Ranma!"

"Yeah… busy… easy for you to say Akane," Ranma grumbled, shakily getting back on his feet. With a loud battle cry, he jumped forward and punched the gigantic head a few times. Distancing himself, he looked at his bruised hands with gritted teeth. What was this thing made of, Akane's cooking? And what happened to Ryoga? Looking over his shoulder, he was ready to lash out at the fanged teen but he only found Shinnosuke's grandfather there. He looked questioningly at the old man, who just shrugged his shoulders and pointed to a distant part of the forest. _'Oh man! What a time to get lost P-chan!'_

"Shinnosuke, Ranma, I've got it! I have the moss of life!" Akane cried out in joy, causing the remaining men to snap their heads and look at her. The girl's joyous cry was short-lived when the previous seven serpent heads suddenly rose up from the lake and wrapped themselves around her body. The frightened girl could only scream as the serpent heads tightened its hold on her before dragging her to the bottom of the lake.

"Akane!" both Ranma and Shinnosuke screamed, frantically rushing forward.

Just like several time before, Ranma wasted no time in going to the rescue of his kawaiikune fiancée. He dived down, swimming after her like a man, or girl, possessed. Ranma-chan caught up with the serpent heads and tried frantically to free Akane. She soon found herself being swatted away like a fly for her troubles. Cursing inwardly, she grabbed a large rock nearby and tossed it on top of the largest serpent head. Orochi howled in pain, its smaller heads forced to release their hold on the now unconscious Akane.

Catching the unconscious girl, Ranma-chan swam back to the top and frantically began gasping for air the minute they reached the surface. Getting out of the lake, the pigtailed girl sighed when she saw Shinnosuke rushing towards them. With pain-filled yet determined eyes, she lifted Akane up by the arms and handed her to the approaching boy. "T-Take care of her, will ya?"

Shinnosuke, even though seriously intimidated by the look on Ranma-chan's eyes, nodded nonetheless. "I will, but you should take care as well."

Another deafening roar shook the entire forest of Ryugenzawa, a clear sign that Orochi had resurfaced once again. Glancing at her fiancée one last time, Ranma-chan turned and faced the infuriated legendary beast. Jumping away from both Shinnosuke and Akane, she couldn't help but grin as an idea popped into her head. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she called out to Orochi in a very girlish tone. Having gotten its attention, she turned around and wiggled her butt at it, slapping it a few times for good measure.

Orochi's eighth head quickly zeroed in on the redhead, while the smaller heads started attacking Akane and Shinnosuke. Fortunately, Shinnosuke was a man of his word and fought tooth and nail against the slithering heads. Although most people would wonder how he was doing it when all he had in his possession was a giant brush, a brush that had the moss of life on its tip, the moss he desperately needed.

Meanwhile, Ranma-chan stopped running away from the serpent head so she could try to taunt it again. Hopefully, she could also divert the smaller heads attention to her in doing so. Turning around, she found herself looking directly into the serpent's slitted eyes. Neither serpent nor human moved, as if they were in some kind of trance. Orochi was the first to break out of it, growling as it called out the smaller serpent heads to leave the unconscious girl and attack the frozen redhead instead.

It was perfect timing, as Shinnosuke had another relapse seconds after the serpent heads left them. Having seen this, Shinnosuke's grandfather gathered whatever courage he had left and rushed up to the boy. Removing his grandson's shirt, he grabbed the giant brush and carefully applied the moss of life at the boy's backside. "Come on boy, this should work."

With a groan, Akane stirred just in time to see Shinnosuke's grandfather apply the moss on her friend. Sighing in relief, she sat up and was about to call out to Ranma when the words died on her throat. She placed a hand on her mouth, shocked at the sight that greeted her. Ranma-chan was still under that weird trance, even when the seven smaller serpent heads were furiously biting at her. Seeing her fiancée in danger, she got up and joined the fray. She never got close. She was sent back to the land of unconsciousness as two serpent heads released their hold on the frozen redhead and struck her hard.

Hearing Akane's scream finally snapped the pigtailed girl out of her trance. She tried to move, but the more she resisted, the deeper the Orochi heads bit her. Mumbling a series of curses and profanities, she glanced at one of the serpent heads gnawing at one of her arms. Gulping audibly, she braced herself before biting the head. There were two notable reactions that took place, one was the serpent head hissing in pain as it released its hold on the arm, and the other was the look of absolute disgust on the redhead's face as she spat out some of the serpent's blood.

With her arm freed from the serpent's grasp, Ranma-chan quickly used it to clonk another serpent on the head, forcing it to release her other arm. Ignoring the pain, she cupped her hands and launched confidence-based ki blasts at Orochi and its remaining heads, stunning the beast long enough for her to completely escape its sharp clutches. Cupping her hands, she was about to blast the monster again when a voice suddenly started speaking to her.

**_Blood… my blood…_**

"Where did that come from?" Ranma-chan wondered, frantically searching for the source of the voice. A chill went up to her spine when she stared at Orochi, who seemed to be looking at her in amusement. "Did you just talk?"

**_My child…_**

The redhead felt a sharp tug on her chest, making her fall to her knees. Hunching slightly, she clutched her chest and struggled to breathe, the pain becoming more unbearable with each passing second. Glaring defiantly at the eight headed serpent, she snarled and gasped out, "What do you want from me?!"

**_Hatred… kin… you… give your… to me… _**

A new surge of pain struck her chest like an oncoming truck, causing her to spit out blood. Ranma-chan fell forward, body shaking uncontrollably. She didn't even have the strength to scream anymore.

**_Awaken!_**

And the world went white.

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What happened would remain a mystery to everyone except for those well-versed in internal energies. In a mansion hidden in a forest near the outskirts of Hokkaido, a beautiful, dark-haired woman garbed in ceremonial priestess clothing comfortably sat on a porch together with her pet, a small sparrow that was currently resting on her shoulder. Her face was a mask of neutrality, her clear and pristine blue eyes held a certain kind of warmth in them, carefully hidden underneath her cold gaze, and her flowing black hair was held back by a simple white headband.

Grabbing a small tea cup placed to her side, she was about to take a sip when her senses started going overdrive as a familiar dark aura surged past her. Standing abruptly, she looked in the direction of its source and glared, absently dropping the tea cup and spilling its contents on the floor. With clenched fists, she bit her lip tightly before saying, "So you've finally showed yourself, Orochi."

"Lady Chizuru!" a young girl called out in a panicked voice, hurriedly rushing up to her lady's side.

Leveling her gaze at the panting girl in front of her, Chizuru mildly shook her head and said, "There is no need to tell me, for I felt it too. This is not like any kind of power we have come across thus far, this is the real thing." _'It would seem that the power that had been released ten years ago now finally revealed itself, which could only mean that **he** would show up soon. Even I have to admit that I am still not strong enough to defeat that man by myself, but who could I ask for help?' _

By fate or by some odd coincidence, a gentle breeze blew a flyer towards her. Seeing the piece of paper, her hand blurred and grabbed it in a blink of an eye. Reading its contents, she raised a curious brow and her face became thoughtful at the new possibilities presented before her. _'The King of Fighters Tournament, Iori Yagami and Kyo Kusanagi, two people intertwined by fate… Perhaps I should host the tournament this year, and ask the winners to help me defeat that man and his dark schemes.'_

With that thought, she turned and walked back into the mansion, with her panting servant following close behind.

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Inside the Musk Stronghold in China, 'Princess' Herb abruptly got up from her throne and narrowed her eyes as she stared outside the window, into the distant sky. The people gathered at the throne room were at a loss as to what was the cause of their leader's strange behavior. Ignoring their nagging query, Herb slowly walked out of the room and made her way towards her private quarters, her hands slightly shaking when she felt that this dark, malicious entity seemed to be rapidly growing in power.

"You have haunted my dreams now you dare haunt me in reality," Herb snarled, forcefully slamming the double doors shut the moment she stepped into her room. She channeled her ki and flew to the far corner of the room, staring intently at the large, golden crest mounted on the wall. It was a crest of a dragon and a serpent fighting each other. "I am no match for you at the moment, demon, but someday I shall make you bow down before me. I swear it."

Herb turned around and crossed her arms, draconic eyes brimming with steadfast determination. Taking a deep breath, she called out to her most loyal, though slightly eccentric warriors. Rushing into the room, the two warriors addressed their leader with respectful bow as they got on one knee. "Mint, Lime, gather the finest warriors on our lands and bring them to me. I want to test my skills against the Musk Kingdom's best."

"As you command, my lord," Mint replied respectfully, silently wondering the purpose of such an odd request. Regardless, he would do as his lord asked, although he had other matters to tend to at the moment. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Lime instinctively grab their lord's breasts and roughly caressed them. Seeing that he was too late to stop his partner, he sighed and bowed his head in resignation. From his lord's twitching eyebrow, it would seem that another 'lecture' was in store for Lime.

Mint only hoped Lime would live through it.

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That night, Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga have made it back at the Tendo Dojo, with the latter carrying the sleeping Ranma-chan over his shoulder. Their trip back home was a quiet one. Neither Akane nor Ryoga talked that much, both still puzzled at the events that transpired at Ryugenzawa. When Akane came to and when Ryoga finally got back, the fight had long since ended and neither Shinnosuke nor his grandfather had any ideas as to what really happened.

The scene that awaited both Akane and Ryoga was nothing short of amazing. Half of the place was leveled, presumably destroyed in the ensuing fight. Animals, trees, the ground, even the entire lake wasn't spared. It was fortunate that Shinnosuke and his grandfather had taken the unconscious Akane far away from the place or else she would've ended up like the poor inhabitants of Ryugenzawa.

What amazed them the most was the sight of a dead Orochi floating on top of what was left of the lake, and of course, Ranma-chan, whom was floating right beside the eight headed beast. All things pointed to one conclusion, and none of them dared believe it. Ranma defeating the legendary beast when they all saw the pigtailed boy struggling against it just to stay alive? Akane shook her head. True, Ranma had done his fair share of miracles and turned the tides against superior opponents, but this was pushing it.

_'Besides,'_ Akane thought with a sour face, _'If we did tell him that he could've ** possibly** defeated the legendary beast Orochi, I'm sure that his ego will go up several notches more. The baka's gloating over his defeat of Prince Herb was bad enough, no need to add this to his ever growing list of defeated enemies.'_

Akane watched as Ryoga placed Ranma-chan to her room before the fanged martial artist promptly got lost. She stared wistfully at the snoring redhead for a minute then quietly headed to her room, but not before mouthing a sincere 'thank you' for saving her and for helping her get the cure for Shinnosuke.

"Orochi… sama…" Ranma-chan mumbled in her sleep, her voice a pained whisper.

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Four months passed, and the 1996 King of fighters Tournament was reaching its crescendo. Fighters from far and wide have come and gone, having tasted bitter defeat from stronger opponents. In the end, only two three-man teams remain, the first of the two teams only had a single fighter left standing while the second team still had all of its fighters, although it would seem that two of the three fighters were simply watching the events with mild interest.

The first team, the Hero Team, was indeed down to its last fighter. Kyo Kusanagi, sole heir to the Kusanagi clan, and a popular figure among the masses, stood defiantly against his long time adversary. Just like his fellow clansmen, he had the power to wield the crimson flame. His clan's crimson flame was the same one used to fight against the eight-headed serpent, as told in the legends.

The second team, the Yagami Team, had its strongest fighter facing off against the Kusanagi heir. Iori Yagami, the last living member of the cursed Yagami clan, and long time rival of the young man before him. Opposite to that of Kusanagi, Iori had the ability to wield the cursed purple flame. His clan's cursed flame was also connected to the legends of old, and it also was the very reason for the clan's fated demise.

Yagami's partners, two beautiful women named Mature and Vice casually stood at the sidelines. Though still able to fight after their respective matches, they forfeited their matches with the Kusanagi boy as per their agreement with Yagami. Yagami wanted Kusanagi all by himself and they were more than happy to oblige since they had nothing to gain in fighting the boy. Besides, they had other things to worry about.

Back to the two flame wielders, the two kept trading punches and kicks, neither one willing to back down. It had been that way for a good while now, and it showed no signs of slowing down even if they were running out of time. The two fighters never did notice it, and neither did the thousands of spectators watching the intense fight before them. It was only when a beautiful, long-haired woman strolled towards the Kusanagi and Yagami and told them that the match was over did any of them snap out of their stupor.

"Yata," Mature spat, furiously trying to stand up even if she knew it to be futile. She was too late in sensing it, the disgusting seal of the Yata clan that would bind any and all things related to 'the evil presence', as that wretched clan described it. Shooting a glance at Vice, she couldn't help but smile when she saw that her partner was well on her way in destroying this seal.

"This battle is a draw," the woman stated, eyeing both fighters with a critical eye, specifically Yagami.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Iori demanded, quickly summoning his purple flames. This fight would not go down like this, not if he had something to say about it!

"I am Chizuru Kagura, the main sponsor for this year's tournament," the woman answered coolly, eyeing both exhausted fighters with her icy gaze. That simple statement shut Yagami up because as the main sponsor, she pretty much could do anything she wanted, so if she declared this match a draw then it would definitely become one. Sensing no impending attack from the snarling man, she closed her eyes and said, "Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, I, a member of the Yata clan, am in desperate need of your assistance. I ask that you two work together alongside me to fight a powerful evil entity, for you two have the power to defeat it."

"Not interested," Kyo snarled, glaring at his rival from the corner of his eyes.

"Like hell that'll happen," Iori scoffed, mimicking Kusanagi's movements as he glared right back. "Besides, why should I help you after calling my match with Kusanagi a _ draw_?"

"You two should listen to the priestess, for everything she said was the absolute truth," an amused voice told the two startled fighters. With a furious gust of wind, the man suddenly appeared in between the two flame wielders. He took a brief glance at the visibly bristling Chizuru in front of him before smirking at the darkened skies above and continuing, "Except for the part where you two would beat me."

"So you finally showed yourself, you bastard." Kyo called out his flames and quickly sent a wave at the man that soundly defeated him in the past. "I'll make you pay for what you did to me!"

"Tsk, tsk, I expected a member of Kusanagi clan to have a little bit more tact than this." With a disappointed shake of the head, the man vanished and suddenly appeared in front of the surprised Kusanagi heir. He drove his fist into the boy's gut, making Kyo leave the ground for a moment because of the force behind it. As Kyo collapsed to his knees, the man leaned forward and whispered, "It would seem that you still are too weak to be of any use. A pity, I would've loved to see someone of Kusanagi blood fully resurrect my lord and master."

Seeing this strange man gather energy around his fingertips to finish Kyo, Iori stepped in and forced him to take a leap backwards with his purple flame, much to the surprise of everyone. Scowling, he glared at the man with seething hatred. "And just what are you supposed to be?"

"Ah, please forgive my rudeness, Yasakani," the man apologized, doing a mock bow. "I am one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi, Goenitz of the Wind!"

"I don't know what you're planning and frankly I don't care," Iori growled out, rushing at Goenitz with the intent to kill. "What I do care is you trying to take what's rightfully mine! Kusanagi's life can only be ended by me!"

"I think not," Goenitz told him with a wide grin, lifting his hand high above his head and casually snapping his fingers together. Multiple razor-sharp wind blades shot towards the angry redhead, effortlessly slicing through his clothes and skin. Seeing a bloody Iori fall back unconscious, he turned his attention to the thousands of speechless spectators gathered around the arena. "All of you rejoice! You shall become the guiding light for my master's return!"

"You monster!" the Yata priestess screamed as the Hakkeshu of Wind raised his arms and summoned an enormous wind void, one that started pulling in thousands of panicking fans into itself.

"An interesting choice of words, child," Goenitz chuckled, swatting away the charging woman with a strong wind gust. Watching the priestess flip to safety, he grinned and pointed at her kneeling form. "If I am a monster, Yata, then what does that make you? The way your kind killed countless people in the past make my actions seem tame in comparison."

Enraged by the Orochi priest's words, Chizuru clenched her fists and charged recklessly. Seeing that his little trick worked, Goenitz smirked and teleported right in front of the angry priestess. With Chizuru overcome with heavy emotion, she couldn't react in time when the Hakkeshu of Wind grabbed her in a cross chokehold. With a triumphant laugh, the Hakkeshu brought his hands down, his fingers tearing through the young Yata's flesh as if they were nothing.

Blood flowed freely from the priestess's wounds, and the Hakkeshu of Wind loved every moment of it. Smirking at the fallen Yata, he gazed at the ring he wore in his right hand and laughed, "To think that such a simple ring can counter the effects of one of the most powerful seals in the world."

Vice finally broke free of her binds, and quickly helped Mature out of hers. Goenitz saw this and chuckled, "It's about time you two. Come, we have to finish gathering energy for our master."

"No," Mature said defiantly, standing up as soon as Vice broke her seal. She and Vice didn't give the Hakkeshu of Wind a chance to question them as they suddenly attacked him in tandem. Vice furiously fought the man on the ground while Mature took to the air and assaulted Goenitz with a series of ki blades. Though try as they might, they knew that they were still no match for the oldest and most experienced Orochi Hakketsu Shuu.

Goenitz knew that fact, and he knew it well. With a simple snap of his fingers, multiple hurricanes descended from the skies above. Grinning madly, he stepped back and watched the two frantically avoid the ensuing cyclones. At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before those two traitors get ripped to shreds. Such was the fate of those who dared defy his almighty master.

Before Goenitz' plan came to fruition, a flame-covered punch struck his face. The flames swiftly spread on the Hakkeshu's body, forcing him to dispel his powerful attack. He rolled on the ground a few times to rid himself of the flames. With a snarl, he looked at the smug look of his attacker with complete and utter annoyance. "It would seem that I had underestimated you Kusanagi, but it is of little consequence. After all, a bug will always be a bug!"

And so the fated duel between a Kusanagi and a servant of Orochi began. This time, Goenitz was hard-pressed in just dodging Kyo's relentless attacks of flame-covered punches and kicks. Kyo was quick to figure that the Hakkeshu of Wind loved using his ranged attacks a bit too much. It was either overconfidence or lack of close-ranged fighting skills on Goenitz' part, but this glaring weakness might leave the master of wind open just enough for him to go for the kill.

While the logic was sound, Kyo was dead wrong about Goenitz lacking in close-ranged offensive skills. So the moment Kyo got past the Hakkeshu's guard, a smirking Goenitz welcomed him in a bloody chokehold, the very same move used against Chizuru. With a frenzied laugh, he tore the young Kusanagi's skin with his bare hands and then kicked him in the gut to send him flying back.

However, Goenitz didn't have time to gloat because Iori was already up on his feet. Growling loudly, Iori lunged at him from behind and tackled him forcefully. Just like Kusanagi, Iori settled for a close fight since that was more his forte. Besides, he was never one to wait for an enemy to leave an opening. He'd _make_ one for them. With a snarl, he shouted, "Asobi wa… owari da!"

Yagami's fighting style was much effective than Kusanagi's in fighting Goenitz simply because of the fact that Iori could make his fingernails as sharp as knives. So even if Goenitz blocked it, he would still incur quite a bit of damage. He might even drop his guard completely, and _that_ was the scenario Iori wanted. The cursed member of the Yagami clan smirked evilly to himself. If Goenitz won't drop his guard then he'd just force him to, even if he had to tear the bastard's arms out to do it.

"Damn you, Yasakani filth," Goenitz sneered, wincing as his clothes and the flesh on his arm were steadily being ripped apart. To make matters worse, Kyo, having closed his bleeding wound with his flame, jumped in and joined his rival in attacking him.

"Kurai Yagare!" the Kusanagi heir shouted, as he directed a powerful fire wave towards the wavering Hakkeshu. He didn't care if his flame also struck Yagami, since he knew for a fact that Yagami would do the same. Fortunately, Yagami rolled away, leaving Goenitz to take the full brunt of the attack by himself. Cautiously approaching Yagami and the blazed form of the master of wind, he tried to hide his surprise when he saw crimson flames flickering around Yagami's hands. He was about to question his rival when a strong gust of wind appeared and put out the flame covering the Hakkeshu's body.

With an amused laugh, Goenitz sat up and stared the two down with his slitted eyes. He got on one knee and raised his hand, intent on sending the largest and most powerful hurricane he could call out when he found himself unable to move. He instantly recognized this seal, but he should be immune to it, unless… Gazing at his raised hand, he gritted his teeth the moment he saw what was left of his ring. _'Damn you, Kusanagi…'_

"The Kusanagi and the Yagami clan were once allies. They both worked together with the Yata clan to seal Orochi 1800 years ago, and we will do so again," Chizuru Kagura coldly informed the immobilized Hakkeshu. She was clutching the base of her neck, where her wound was. Thankfully, it wasn't as deep as she first thought. Cutting her musings short, she glared at the man before starting a series of hand movements. "I'll never forgive you for killing my whole family so you can unlock the seal of Orochi. I hereby banish you to the depths of hell!"

"This… is far from… over," Goenitz gasped out, slowly losing to the effects of the Yata seal. "Everything is now in place, Yata. All of you humans will die by my master's hand."

Chizuru was about to ask him what he meant when another strong wind gust emerged, forcing the fighters to shield their eyes. Impossible! He shouldn't have been able to use his powers! As the winds receded, she gasped when Goenitz was nowhere to be seen. All that was left of his presence was the large pool of blood that had shown up on where he once was.

A maniacal laughter boomed across the wrecked arena. "Do not worry, child. Your seal worked, but I will not let you have my soon to be corpse. I wish to go to Gaia, where my master eagerly awaits my return."

With those final words, the Hakkeshu of Wind was no more.

Sighing softly, Chizuru turned to face Kyo and Iori and again asked for their help. Once more, the two refused, even after witnessing the terrifying destructive power of one of Orochi's servants. In the end, the Yata priestess was the recipient of an indifferent scoff and a resentful sneer.

Iori walked away from his rival and that meddlesome woman, and slowly went over to his teammates. As he approached them, a sharp, increasing pain in his chest would hit him. He shrugged it off, thinking it was just one of the wounds he received from Goenitz.

"You look like hell, Yagami," Vice laughed, seductively walking towards the scowling man. Mature crossed her arms and simply rolled her eyes at her partner's behavior. They had stood back in the fight against Goenitz because it was their plan to use Yagami to fight the Hakkeshu of Wind, the latter of whom they had considered a serious liability in achieving their ultimate goal. Iori didn't need to know that bit of information though.

Just as Mature was about to join the two, she heard Vice let out a blood-curling scream. She looked up, and found herself staring at a pair of soulless eyes. She screamed as the figure before her began tearing her apart, never giving her a chance to defend herself. The last thing she saw was the evil, sadistic smirk of her attacker, which turned out to be none other than Iori Yagami.

Finished with his two partners, a crazed Iori turned his attention to the spectators who survived the wind void. With speed he hadn't shown before, he rushed up to them and slashed them to death with his bare hands.

"What is happening to him?" Kyo asked the Yata priestess, hands shaking at the massacre taking place right in front of him. Just what was happening to Yagami?

"Yagami is going through the Riot of Blood," Chizuru answered in a deceptively calm tone. "As Saisyu Kusanagi probably told you by now, Yagami has the blood of Orochi flowing in his veins because of the pact his ancestors made with the fallen god hundreds of years ago. By going through the Riot of Blood, his Orochi heritage is starting to awaken…"

Riot of Blood Iori howled, wildly thrashing his arms around as he continued tearing everything in sight.

"I have to stop him!" Kyo shouted, absently tugging at his gloves. He was about to make good on his word when he felt his whole body going numb. He fell to his knees not long after.

"It's useless, Kusanagi," Chizuru told Kyo, holding him in place with a simple seal. With a leveled gaze, she looked down at the scowling Kyo and said, "You'll only get killed by him if you faced him in your current state."

The insane Orochi warrior let out another inhuman howl before walking towards the exit, his bloodstained hands continuing to tear through anything and everything that blocked his path.

Releasing her hold on Kyo, Chizuru slowly approached the bloody scene in front of her, trying to see if anyone survived Yagami's onslaught. To her surprise, she did find a pair, and they were none other than Mature and Vice. A part of her wanted to leave them there, while another part badly wanted to help two people in need. Seeing that the latter side won, she sighed softly and began treating their injuries to the best of her abilities.

"The Orochi Riot of Blood," Kyo whispered, shakily getting back his bearings while clutching his neck wound from earlier. He stared at the destruction around him for a long while before turning and walking away, the carnage he witnessed still fresh in his mind.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coincidentally, something similar was about to happen in Jusendo, China.

Ranma Saotome was battling the Phoenix King Saffron, and losing badly. He was on all fours, having nearly exhausted his ki reserves. Through blurred vision, he gazed at the magical weapon of ice Gekkaja lying before him. Gritting his teeth, he used the last ounce of his strength to reach out for it, but misfortune struck when a large fireball blasted it away. With his last hope so far out of reach, he finally collapsed and silently wondered what went wrong.

It was supposed to be simple. They were to use the dragon tap on Akane and then hightail it out of there, perhaps teaching the arrogant Phoenix King a lesson or two as well. Well they managed to do the former, and he told the group to leave the place, which they reluctantly did, so he could fight the transformed Saffron all out. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted the possibility of losing to the obviously more powerful Phoenix King.

He knew now that the decision he made had been one terrible mistake, a mistake that might very well cost him his life. He had to laugh at that. His past opponents greatly underestimated him, paving the way for his victory. But now the situation changed. He was the one that looked down on Saffron and called him nothing more than a weakling, and that perhaps was the most glaring factor in his defeat.

Irony did run abound in this world.

Oh well, at least he would die with the knowledge that Akane and the others were safe. He only hoped that Saffron skip the cliché bad guy talk and go straight for the kill. He heard enough of the Phoenix King's incessant mocking to last him several lifetimes. Such hope was completely shattered the minute he felt Saffron's boot stomp on his head. Yup, he was going for the long bad guy talk.

To his surprise, Saffron only said a few words to him, although that was more than enough for him to feel an uncontrollable amount of depression, hatred, and rage. These emotions fueled his desire to continue fighting, but to his surprise, something else had awakened because of this.

**My child…**

"You really do care about that girl," Saffron sighed, feigning disappointment. "It truly would be a pity if someone decided to shall we say… enslave her by using the Surikomi eggs. It also would be disheartening when the people traveling with her were to get ruthlessly annihilated just because they were too stubborn in protecting her."

**It is time…**

Ranma suddenly convulsed and began coughing up blood, causing Saffron to fly back in surprise. The Phoenix King watched, mesmerized, as the purple flames swallowed the landling whole. Realizing what those flames meant, Saffron viciously narrowed his eyes and began gathering energy for his most powerful attack, the Tenka Shunmetsu Koukyuudan. "It seems that I'd do the world a favor by destroying you, monster!"

A gigantic ball of flame descended towards the blazed pigtailed boy. Imagine the Phoenix King's shock when his most powerful attack was snuffed out by Ranma's outstretched, flaming hand. Before he could even recover, a howling Ranma jumped at him with unbridled speed and tore off his left arm and wing in one fell swoop. He gritted his teeth and concentrated on regenerating his lost limbs, but Ranma had other ideas.

Grabbing Saffron from behind, he sank his fingers into the Phoenix King's body. With another inhuman howl, he tightened his hold as he set the Phoenix ablaze with unforgiving purple flames. The two literally blazing warriors landed roughly, creating a large crater upon doing so. Standing up, a still berserk Ranma looked down and seemed pleased at the results. All that was left of his winged foe was a pile of ash.

Saffron, Lord of Jusendo and ruler of the Phoenix People did not rise from his ashes after that attack, nor would he do such a thing ever again.

Steam came out of Ranma's mouth as he howled again, soulless blue eyes staring intently at the skies above. With his foe utterly annihilated, his hunched form slowly left the place. What the berserker didn't realize was that he was headed in the general direction of Mount Phoenix, where an entire race eagerly awaited the return of their Lord Saffron.

Perhaps the crazed Ranma Saotome did realize it, as a feral, almost maniacal grin crept up to his face.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** AN:** Second rewrite. Hope it's better this time around.

** Next: Ties That Bind**


	2. A Hero's Life, Cursed Blood

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters x-over fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ and King of fighters. If I did, I'd give the word 'riot' a whole new meaning. MWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHA!!!! *WHAM* (Gets hit by mallet-sama) "BAKA!"

**WARNING: **Chapter is a little dark at first.

Flames of Destiny

By Luc

Chapter 2: **A Hero's Life, Cursed Blood**

* * *

**A couple of months later… **

It was a rainy night in Tokyo; everyone was running off to seek shelter from the sudden downpour. Well, almost everyone… 

A lone figure is casually walking down the streets. Said figure is wearing a long dark cloak that completely covers the figure's face and body. His movements are refined; He walks in complete silence as if he seemingly glides across the pavement. He doesn't seem to mind the rain or the looks he has been getting from the people. He would've walked to the other end of town without a second thought if he hadn't heard someone crying. The cloaked man looked towards the small alleyway and saw three men looking down on someone with wicked eyes. The man's eyes narrowed when he saw the one on the ground. It was a girl, around 16-18 years old, with matching brown hair and eyes. She is wearing a standard school fuku that have seen better days. The girl was crying her eyes out, desperately trying to shout off a cry for help but nothing came out of her mouth. The hooded man changed his course and started walking towards the alley.

The three men looked down on the young girl before them. They all had malicious grins on their faces.

"Well lookie here! We got ourselves a fine catch boys!"

"Yeah! What a babe!"

"Heheh… Urk!!!" 

The third thug didn't get to finish his bit as a hand appeared out of nowhere and started to choke the life out of him. He is lifted off the ground by someone and not less than a second later the thug's head was slammed into a brick wall. A loud crack can be heard coming from the man's skull. Unconsciousness followed suit.

The place where the thug once stood shimmered for a moment and then a man in a dark cloak came into view. He removes his hood and the petrified girl and the other thugs finally got a good look on who the man is. He has black hair that is tied in a loose ponytail, icy blue eyes and a look that promises pain to those who would dare piss him off. 

The cloaked individual looked at the downed body of the thug for awhile, he then turned his gaze towards the other two thugs. If looks could kill, those two would've died a hundred times over. One of the thugs is shaking like crazy and there was a yellow stain visible on his pants. 

"Leave… now…" the man said in a menacing tone.

The thug that wet himself quickly ran away screaming about ghosts and stuff. The other one pulled out a knife and pointed it towards the intimidating figure in front of him.

"You think that little trick scares me?" the ponytailed man just smirked at him. "You… I'll show you!"

He sprang forward intending to stab the cloaked man's chest.  

The man's hands blurred for a second and the thug was catapulted towards the end of the alley. He picked up the knife on the ground and marched forward to the 'pathetic piece of trash' as he calls it. 

The hooligan was still trying to regain his senses when he felt a sharp pain on his leg. He yelled in agony as he saw the cloaked man twist the knife that was imbedded in his leg. The ponytailed man's hair changed from black to red for a second, then back to black. His cold blue eyes turned purple for a brief moment as well. 

"Shi… ne… (1)"

The hooligan screamed in agony as his whole body was engulfed in purple flames. He stands up and begins to frantically run around in circles. Fortunately for him, his random arm swings broke a water pipe that soon washed the flames off of his body; he then drops to the ground out cold.

The cloaked man turned his attention to the girl. The poor thing just sat there in the corner motionless. A mixture of shock and fear evident in her eyes. He grabs her right shoulder and starts shaking her gently. The girl turned her head slightly and looked at him. Her eyes widened and she frantically screamed at his face.  

"Ge… GET AWAY FROM ME!!! YOU PERVERT! MONSTER! GET AW…" she didn't get the chance to finish her tirade as she suddenly dropped out cold by a pressure point to the back of her head.

The man lifted the girl up and cradled her in his arms. He exits the alley and out the streets. The rain picked up once more. The man looks up to the sky, he then closes his eyes and lets the heavy rain fall on his face. His hair changes into fiery red, he looses a bit of height but the most noticeable feature is the sudden expansion of his chest and his entire body became more curved and defined.  The intimidating man was now replaced by a busty red-haired girl. She opened her blue eyes, eyes that hold so much pain and suffering, and smiles sadly.

"Monster… maybe I am one…" 

She and the brown-haired girl she was carrying faded from view afterwards.

The red-haired girl knocked on the front door of a local clinic in Tokyo. She was carrying the unconscious body of the girl she saved from those thugs. After knocking loudly a couple of times, she decided to leave the girl by the doorstep. She really doesn't need to be here anymore unless she wanted the doctor to call her a monster as well. Shaking her head, she starts walking away only to stop when she heard someone call her name.

"RANMA?!"

* * *

Dr. Tofu Ono sighed as he sat on his chair while drinking a cup of coffee. He has just returned from another visit to Nerima and he still couldn't believe what he saw and heard the first time he was asked to return there.  

****Flashback****

Everyone was gathered at the Tendo Dojo. The Amazons, the Tendo sisters, Nodoka along with Ukyou and Ryoga were seated at the Tendo living room. Soun and Genma were passed out drunk in front of the yard. Dr. Tofu was surprised to see that they were not attacking one another yet. Then he noticed that the girls were crying their hearts out. He almost lost it when he saw Kasumi but managed to remain calm because of the feeling of depression he sensed coming from each one of them. Composing himself, he clears his throat and starts to speak.

"Ahem! Um… Would anyone mind telling me what is going on here? Nabiki told me that something happened and I should come over right away. Why are you all looking like that? It's not like somebody died or anything." Though it was meant to lighten the mood, the group responded by crying and sulking even more than before.

Starting to panic, Tofu turned towards Nabiki. "Nabiki?"

Nabiki looked like hell. Her hair was a mess and her puffy red eyes clearly indicated that she was crying. It was rather an unusual sight to see the so called 'Ice queen' of Furinkan High in such a state. She turned towards Dr. Tofu and shakily answered. 

"Ranma's dead."

Tofu blinked for a moment before his head finally caught up with the meaning behind those words. His eyes widen and his knees suddenly became weak. After a few moments, he finally regained his voice. "H-How?"

Cologne retold the story of what happened in Jusendo up to the last time they saw the pigtailed boy.

"Are you sure that he is dead? I mean he could've escaped not long after you did right?" Tofu asked, although it sounded like he was only trying to convince himself more than anything.

Taking a deep breath, Cologne answered. "His eyes…" Tofu raised an eyebrow at that. Cologne sighed a bit before continuing. "The look in his eyes told me that he will die first rather than run away. He knew that he wasn't coming out of the fight alive but he wanted to make sure that the rest of us got out of harm's way…" Cologne's voice was barely heard near the end.

Shaking his head in denial, Tofu started ranting. "But you don't know for sure right? I mean this is Ranma were talking about here! He has survived everything thrown at him before, why should this be any different?" 

Cologne smacked Tofu on the head. It was clear that the news hit him as hard as the rest of the group. She couldn't blame him for his attitude though. In the past, Ranma fought long and hard against opponents that far outclassed him but he always managed to come up on top at the end. They have forgotten that Ranma is still human (2) and can be killed. What happened in Jusendo is a clear example of that. 

"Foolish male! Not long after we escaped the entire Phoenix Mountain exploded! I assumed it was due to son-in-law and Saffron's clash of power. When we finally reached the bottom, the whole mountain was engulfed in flames!" Cologne snapped back. 

"Ai… Airen too too brave. Great-grandmother organize team of Amazon warriors but… but…" Shampoo said in between sobs.  

"When we got there all we found was a mound of ash." Ryoga finished for the distraught Shampoo.

"Human ashes…" Mousse added quietly. Cologne went on to finish the story.

"The entire Phoenix tribe, son-in-law and even the Phoenix god Saffron were turned to dust. The only thing strange about the whole thing was that Saffron the immortal did not rise from his ashes like the legends foretold." Cologne then let off a dry chuckle. "Knowing son-in-law, I think he might have been the one behind that certain phenomenon." 

Dr. Tofu couldn't handle much more of this and promptly fainted on the spot.

****End Flashback****

Tofu sighed yet again. Since he was Ranma's doctor in Nerima, he took care of Ranma's medical records and especially those in regards to the young man's death. They made a tomb in memory of the arrogant, chauvinistic yet kind and innocent young man. He would come back to Nerima once a month to check up on everyone. Most of the group is going be alright, but some are struck pretty hard by Ranma's death.

The Amazons were no stranger to people dying so they are the ones that recovered quickly. Cologne managed to sell the Nekohanten in a couple of week's time. They left for China a month ago, saying that they have no business to be in Japan anymore. Shampoo on the other hand, said that Nerima reminded her so much of her beloved Airen.

Ukyou shared similar thoughts with the purple-haired girl. She closed Ucchan's and left Nerima not long after the Amazons did. He found out from Nabiki that she was accepted back by her father saying that Ranma's death brought her honor back so she was declared female once more. 

Soun and Genma, he really didn't know what to do with them. They were already getting drunk on a regular basis even before he left Nerima now those two seem to have gotten worse if that was possible. 

Nabiki remained almost the same as before. Except she's a lot colder to everyone other than her family; it seems as if that she has shunned the rest of the world from her heart completely. She still does her 'stuff' at school but he thinks that she does it lackadaisically now. It appears that she has reinforced the barrier she made when her mother died years ago. He was beginning to wonder if Nabiki did have feelings for the pigtailed youth.

Kasumi, sweet Kasumi. He cursed himself for not being able to console her. He only heard from Nabiki that she does her household chores half-heartedly now. Her smile faded along with her enthusiasm.

Nodoka is a living wreck. She decided to go back to the Saotome residence and locked herself inside Ranma's old room. It took sometime to get her to come out and eat some food. At least Kasumi visits often to share the pain of losing someone dear to you.

Akane… Akane took it the worst. Just like Nodoka, she locked herself inside her room and refused to eat anything for a couple of days until her sisters got her out of it. Even when her so-called 'pet' P-chan comes by, she just ignores it and continues to sulk. When Kasumi said that she can cook for the day Akane just said that she was a lousy cook! Akane even malleted Ryoga for speaking badly about Ranma. Ryoga got pounded even more when Akane took P-chan to the bath with her. 

In a way he was kind of glad that Akane now realizes her own faults and weaknesses. It is said that people grieve in different ways. He guessed that this was Akane's way of coping up with her loss.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a loud knock on the door. He glanced at the clock, it was past midnight already. '_Who could it be at this time of the night?' thought__ Tofu as he unlocked the door. _

He was shocked to see a young girl leaning on the wall beside his doorstep. He quickly checked the girl for her vitals and was glad that the girl was okay. He then started looking around to find out who brought the girl here. His eyes widened as he came upon a retreating figure with familiar bright red hair and a long ponytail. He could only utter a single word afterwards.

"RANMA?!" 

* * *

Ranma-chan turned around slowly, her clear blue eyes widened upon seeing a familiar figure running up to her.

"Ranma?! Is it really you?!"

"D… doc…" That was all Ranma-chan could say before she was grabbed by the shoulders.

"It is you! But how? I heard from Elder Cologne that you died in China?!" Tofu shouted at Ranma-chan's face. 

Ranma-chan slapped Tofu's hands off her shoulders. "I'd rather not talk about it…" Ranma-chan said in a harsh voice.

"In any case let's go inside my clinic to get out of the rain okay?" Dr. Tofu asked.

Ranma-chan hesitated but her desire to find out what happened to her friends and family made the decision for her.  "Hai…"

Ranma, now back in his male form sat across the table at the reception area of the clinic. His gaze has been fixed on the ground for quite some time now. Tofu sipped his coffee and begins to ask Ranma.

"Ranma, what really happened in China? The whole town of Nerima was in an uproar when they heard about your supposed death." 

"I lived, they didn't. That's about it. Can we drop this already?" Ranma said in a cold hard tone. Tofu was shocked at the tone Ranma was using. In his stay in Nerima he never heard such a thing from the boy. Regardless, he needed to find out what caused him to turn out like this.

"Please Ranma, I am just curious to find out what really happened."

Ranma closed his eyes and stayed silent for a long time. _'Should I tell him? Will he understand? Or will he see me as a monster as well?' Tofu was one of a few people that he completely trust. _

Ranma let out a heavy sigh, he decided to tell him. "Fine… Saffron got me beat, he was about to finish me off when  I felt my entire body in intense pain and something… powerful, it was like I was being torn apart from the inside out. Next thing I knew, I was on my feet and started beating the hell out of Saffron…" He paused and summons his flame. "With this… I really don't know what exactly this is but this is the one that set the mountain on fire…" 

"Ranma..?" 

Unshed tears can be seen in his eyes. He sobs every now and then but he continued telling the story. "I… I killed them… Every phoenix, male or female it didn't matter, I killed every last one of them… I burned them all while I was drunk with that mixture of pain and power. When I finally regained control of my body, I found myself in a forest a few miles away from Phoenix Mountain…" 

Dr. Tofu goes to Ranma's side and gently grabs Ranma's shoulder to provide some comfort. "Ranma… It wasn't your fault. Whatever this power is, it was the one that made you lose control. I understand Ranma, you killed them… but that doesn't mean that you liked it."   

_'I thought you understand?!' _ "But I did like it…" his voice barely above whisper. 

"What?" asked a stunned Tofu.

"I SAID I LIKED IT!!! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU UNDERSTAND?! I MAY NOT HAVE BEEN IN CONTROL OF MY BODY BUT I SAW EVERYTHING I DID AND I LIKED EVERY SECOND OF IT!!! CAN YOU SAY THE SAME THING TO YOURSELF?!" that last statement shut Tofu up.

Tears burst forth and started falling down his face but he was smiling, it was not a normal smile rather it was a smile that a crazed person would've made. 

"EVERYTIME THESE HANDS TORE THROUGH SAFFRON'S SKIN I WAS FILLED WITH A SENSE OF SATISFACTION! THEIR CRIES OF ANGER AND REVENGE ONLY AMUSED ME! THEIR SCREAMS AND PLEAS FOR MERCY WHILE I BURNED THEM ALIVE ONLY HIGHTENED MY DESIRE FOR BLOOD, FOR DEATH, FOR PAIN! I WANTED MORE! I WANTED MORE POWER AND I WANTED TO DESTROY EVERYTHING!!!" 

He falls to his knees and stares at his hands. '_Soul of ice… Soul of ice…'_ "Since then, every time I fight, It slowly comes out… tempting me to do things that I never, not even in my wildest dreams, thought that I was ever capable of doing…"

Ranma puched the floor hard. "I… I don't even know what I am anymore…" 

Tofu gave him a reassuring hug. A couple of seconds later Ranma started crying his heart out. Months of pain and suffering alone, without someone to ask for help or someone to confide in. His emotional barriers, amplified by the soul of ice technique, that turned him into a ruthless fighter finally shattered. He was finally able to remove some of the heavy burden he was carrying by himself. 

Ranma collected himself a few moments later. Tofu then proceeded to tell him what has happened in Nerima while he was away.

"Is that the reason why you never did return to Nerima?" Tofu asked the ponytailed boy. Ranma just nods his head.

"I… I had no such control of my powers at the time. I couldn't risk losing control in Nerima. I'll never forgive myself if I hurt any of my friends and family… Fortunately, a kind Chinese couple provided me with food, clothes and some money to last for a few months. I finally gained some sort of control when I used the soul of ice to meditate. I can block out the urges but I will turn into a cold and heartless person instead. At least in that state, I have the power to stop myself from killing again. That's what the girl I rescued saw earlier." Ranma explained.

"In any case, I'll have to call everyone and tell them the news that your alive." 

"NO! *ahem* No doc. Please don't tell them anything. If what you say is true then it's best if Saotome Ranma stays 'dead'. Promise me doc, promise me that you will not tell anyone without my consent." 

"Alright… I promise but I'll have to call your mother okay? She is all alone and I think you'll agree that we don't like to see her in such a sad state right?" Tofu reasoned to the ponytailed boy. 

"Only my mother, okay doc?" Ranma asked. 

"Okay." Tofu then walked towards the phone. Ranma looked outside the window. The rain has stopped, he thought for a bit and then he stood up from the chair he was sitting in.

"I… I have to go doc. There is something I have to do first." Ranma said.

"Where are you going Ranma?" Dr. Tofu asked while picking up the receiver. 

Ranma paused a bit before answering. "I'll be at the outskirts of Nerima in a couple of hours. You can meet me there later doc." He slammed the door shut before Tofu could get a word in.

'_Ranma__… I hope that you can find an answer there…' thought Tofu as he dialed the number to the Saotome residence. He did not notice that the door from the room where he placed the girl was slightly open nor did he see the pair of eyes that watched the heated exchange a couple of minutes ago._

* * *

**Nerima**

Ranma walked towards the town of Nerima. His entire body is cloaked in one of the Umisenken's techniques, the Goshin Dai Ryu Sei Fu (3). He looks around town, checking for changes since he left the place for that disastrous trip to China months ago. The town looks better than ever, the buildings are as good as new and there were no signs of recent damages. It seems that the fights by the Nerima Wrecking Crew stopped as well. 

Ucchan's has been replaced by a ramen restaurant. Though he missed his old buddy and her okonomiyaki, he is glad that at least she is finally back with her family. 

A pharmacy shop replaced the Nekohanten. Ranma suddenly feels as if he will be glomped any minute now. He really cares for Shampoo, but he only sees her as a friend. The same goes for his childhood buddy Ucchan. 

_'At least I got my rivals off my back (4). Knowing Ryoga, I think he'll concentrate on Akari now that his curse has been revealed to Akane. Either that or he'll start looking for my ghost or something to blame things on. Mousse will continue pestering Shampoo but I doubt he'll ever get a chance with her.'_

He chuckles to himself. '_Who would have thought that those idiots were right? I did more good 'dead' than when I was alive.'  _

With his supposed death, the fiancée trouble was no more. The reason he was… as Akane would put it 'leading them on' is because of the fact that the girls would be dishonored if he even choose one of them. Honor is the most important part of him. It is the one thing that was constant in his life so he values honor more than life itself.

Ukyou had to grow up as a boy and was ordered by her father to kill him and his pop or marry him in order to satisfy her honor. If she fails to accomplish one or the other then she will be disowned by her father. She can't run her okonomiyaki business if she is a ronin. With him 'dead' she can have her life back together with her family.

Shampoo already received a Jusenkyo curse as punishment for failing to kill his female side. If she fails to bring her Airen back into the tribe, her punishment at the very least would've been banishment from the Amazon tribe especially with Cologne assisting her on the quest. His death allowed Shampoo to go back to her tribe with her honor intact.

Ranma stops right in front of the Tendo dojo. He stares at the front door for quite sometime and then he turns around and leaves.

_'Akane… I don't understand my feelings for her at all. The first time we met, she was so friendly and kind. She could be such a tomboy at times but that smile of hers makes me feel welcome. I… I guess I care about her a lot but I don't know if it is love. Heh, I don't even know what love is! Damn you pop, Damn you…  You made me like this; I can't even talk properly to anyone without messing things up.' _

He arrived at the last place he planned to visit, his grave. 

_'Funny, __nev__er thought I'd be visiting my grave when I'm not even a ghost (5). I guess I'll leave a letter to mom to give to Akane later. I can't involve her in my life anymore but I certainly won't let her stay a sobbing wreck if what Tofu told me is true.' _

He closed his eyes and summons his purple flames.

_'Yes… It's best this way…' _He was shaken out of his thoughts by a large gasp that came from behind him. He turns and looks at the person directly in the eyes.

"Akane…"

* * *

**Back at the clinic**

Kushinada Yuki closed the door to the room she was in. She really doesn't remember much of what happened when those hooligans dragged her into an alley. She only remembered that the man that saved her changed hair colors for a moment but she dismissed that fact and thought that it was the same red-haired man hell-bent on killing her boyfriend. She now regretted her words because of what she saw and heard a couple of minutes ago. She then noticed the door being opened.  

"Oh! You're awake!"

"Yes…" Yuki meekly replied. 

"My name is Dr. Tofu; a friend of mine saved you from those men and brought you here. Yuki-san is it? Forgive me for prying but I took the liberty of contacting the number that was inside your purse."

"Umm… It's alright and… thanks." _'Uh oh…'_

A loud crash was heard outside the room.

"YUKI!!!"

Two blurs darted past Dr. Tofu and towards the Kushinada girl. 

"Yuki! Are you hurt? Are you injured? I promise I'll hunt every one of them down!" The first blur said in an arrogant tone that could rival Ranma's 'confidence' a few months ago.

"I'm glad you're okay Yuki dear." The second blur said.

"Kyo, Uncle Saisyu, I'm fine. I was saved before they could do anything to me."

"That's good… If my good for nothing son didn't forget to pick you up this would never have happened!" Saisyu said while Soun-like tears flow down his face.

"HEY! It's not my fault! You and you're ideas of training! My body was already spent by the time we got home!" Kyo snapped back.

"My pathetic son can't even admit his own mistakes!" wailed Saisyu.

"I'll show you! ARA GAMI!!!" Kyo lunged forward with a pretty decent right hook.

Tofu and Yuki sweat dropped while watching father and son 'talk' things through. Tofu has only one thing on his mind though… 

_'My clinic… NOOOO!!!'_

* * *

**Nerima**** cemetery**

"R-Ranma..? Is… is it really you?" asked a much shaken Akane. 

"Yeah… It's me…" Ranma calmly answered back. Inside though, he cringed. He was expecting Akane's mallet-sama to hit him for pretending to be dead. Instead, he was almost knocked off his feet by an affectionate hug from the mallet-wielding tomboy. It was just like the hug he got when he returned from his battle with Herb at Mt. Horaisan. 

He noticed that Akane was crying. He never really saw her cry for real but seeing it for the first time nearly made him change his decision. But he had to do this; they both must let each other go. 

"Oh Ranma! I'm so happy! I knew you were alive! I knew you would come back!" Akane said in between sobs. 

Ranma gently pushes Akane away. "Akane… I… have to tell you something. I can't be with you anymore."

"WHY?! Why can't you go back with me?! What's wrong?!" A mixture of anger and denial was evident in her voice. 

"I… I…" _'Damn it, focus! Soul of ice…' "Akane… I like you… I may even love you. I care for you so much… that's why I don't want you to be a part of my messed up life anymore."_

"What do you mean Ranma? If you love me then why do you want to leave me?"

"Akane, think about Mt. Phoenix. You nearly died because you were connected to me. I can't always be there to protect you whenever a new threat appears." Ranma explained. _'Not to mention that I can't even protect you from myself. Oh boy! Here it comes…'_ He prepares himself from another emotional outburst.

"You're right… I am weak. I can't protect myself from those kinds of people. I… I just didn't want to admit it." Akane meekly replied.

"Eh?" Once again Akane has managed to surprise the ponytailed youth. 

"Don't look at me like that Ranma! Wh… when you 'died', I was finally able to realize the truth. You were always there for me. You protected me every time I'm in danger. I did those things because I wanted to be near you. I wanted to be with the Ranma that I know and love…"

Ranma summons his purple flames. He looks at Akane with cold and uncaring eyes "Does the Ranma you know even thought about killing his opponent? Does the Ranma you know kill innocent women and children? Does the Ranma you know takes pleasure in killing people?!" Ranma shouted at her face. 

Akane just stood there, stunned by Ranma's confession. "What?"

"That's right Akane. The Ranma that stands before you now is nothing more than a cold-blooded murderer." He pauses and points at the tombstone. "The Ranma that you and everybody else know rests here! He died the moment he gave in to the temptations of this flame!" His gaze softened and he stares at his hands. 

"It calls to me everyday, even in my dreams. I have little to no control over it! If I finally lose to this curse, then I will be nothing more than a bloodthirsty monster." The ponytailed boy said.

Akane shook her head, trying to deny what she was hearing. "B-But I don't want you to go! I… I love you Ranma."

Tears are starting to flow down Ranma's face. "Please Akane, forget about me and move on with your life. You deserve a chance at a peaceful life." 

Akane tries to protest but her mouth was silenced by Ranma's finger. "Please don't argue with me Akane… I've already made up my mind and I will not change it. It hurts me just as much as it hurts you but I have to do this. I can never forgive myself if I ended up killing you…"

Akane falls to her knees and begins to cry once more. Ranma knelt beside her and hugs her tight. They stayed there for a long period of time. Ranma slowly gets up; he looks at the quivering body of Akane and smiles sadly. He proceeds to walk away but his arm was suddenly grabbed by Akane, who was already up on her feet.

"Just this once… If… If I can't be with you then… then just this once…" Akane trailed off. She then closes her eyes and leans forward. Ranma leans forward as well and then their lips met. The two engage in a deep kiss that lasted for what seems like an eternity. Finally the two separate; they stared at one another with sad smiles on their faces.

"So long… tomboy…"

"Goodbye… baka…"

* * *

Ranma walked towards the outskirts of Nerima with a mixed expression of sadness and relief. He was sad that he had to part with someone he cared for deeply yet relieved that she will not get involved with the dangers involving his life anymore. He hopes that Akane can now go on with her life and find her own happiness. As he was nearing the end of the town, he spotted Dr. Tofu leaning on a wall and muttering something about damages and repairmen? 

"Ready to go Ranma?" Tofu asked the young man. Ranma smiled ever so slightly which made the doctor wonder what he did in Nerima to get that kind of reaction from him. In any case, it seemed to have relieved some of the pain in his mind and heart to a certain degree but enough for him to get out of what the doctor felt like suicidal depression.

"Hai…" The two started walking and soon faded from view. Though Ranma may deny it, a part of him will always be in Nerima. Sure, the chaos and quarrels were non-stop, but Nerima was the only place he felt warm and welcome in his entire life. This was his first home, and no one can say anything to him otherwise. 

* * *

_Ranma_ Saotome's life as a martial artist finally comes to an end, his life as a warrior finally begins.__

* * *

(1) – Die.  

(2) – Human… Riiiiiiiiiight…

(3) – Body Defense Shooting Star Cloth. It is basically an invisibility technique. 

(4) – Oh, you have NO idea Ranma-kun! *evil grin*

(5) – Of course Ranma believes in those after encountering things such as Youkai's, Bake-neko's, and spirits.

# # #

**AN**: Whew! Another chapter done. R&R onegai! Thanks guys for reviewing this fic. I did not want to rush things with how Ranma is dealing with the flames of death. Ranma's Orochi power is a lot different from Iori's, that's all I can say for now. Sorry for the lack of fighting scenes but I wanted this chapter to be an emotional one. Don't worry; I'll make sure that the next chapter has a balance of both. 

In this chapter I wanted to focus on Ranma's state of mind. It's not everyday that you kill hundreds of people, and like it to boot. I wanted to have some character development for our lovable (now slightly disturbing) pigtailed martial artist as he tries to fight the bloodlust inside him. I have downloaded some KoF manga's and have found out that when a person is induced with Orochi blood they show signs of unpredictability. Meaning they could switch from their original behavior into a bloody maniac *snaps fingers* just like that. Ask Iori, I mean for a guy that doesn't like violence he sure causes a lot of it.

What? You were expecting me to go with the 'Ranma's dead, months have passed, Akane moves on, gets Ryoga' or the 'Ranma comes back, bash, bash, bash, then leaves' routine? I'm not an avid supporter of Ranma/Akane matchups but you have to be blind (or just hate Akane) not to see that the two of them have feelings for one another (Both in the anime and manga). Whether it is infatuation or love at first sight (with a HUGE amount of denial on both parties) or whatever, I figured that those two should deserve at least a decent parting. 

A death of a loved one can change a person's life in many ways or people grieve in different ways. I know this to be true because I've seen it happen one to many times. In Akane's case, she starts to think clearly and begins accepting her own faults and weaknesses. (Sounds to good to be true but work with me here ^_^;)

As for Kyo bashings… I will think about it. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Kyo get beat up every now and then but I think that Red Priest's Tenth Hakkeshu took the fun out of it already. (40+ chapters of Kyo bashings @_@;) Besides, I like his mom! She packs a mean punch! ^^

Hmm… What else? Oh yeah! Now that Akane and the fiancée squad is out of the running (for the moment anyway), who am I gonna pair Ranma up with? I was thinking either Chizuru or Leona (I know she's been done already) because they are the only ones that seem to be near or the same age as Ranma (Early 20's and 18 years old respectively). Not to mention that they can relate to Ranma's problems. You could vote for one of the two or you could suggest another character. That's all for now, Ja ne! 

- Luc

Next Chapter **A Child at Heart**

_A child will be born with the power of the Orochi, and when he fully awakens, Orochi will be released into the world once again, and chaos will prevail. _


	3. A Child at Heart

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters x-over fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or KoF characters because if I did, I won't even be writing fanfictions now would I?

**First Things First:**

Joe Ooooooooookay… (I knew where that 'talk' was going to go so I stopped before it becomes a nuclear meltdown) *sighs* Fine… I will say that I did make a mistake with the way the invisibility thing really works; I am sorry (sulks at a corner of a room for a few hours). Like my bio says, I do not partake in arguments and fights so let's just drop it, okay? 

Let's just say that Ranma does not require a cloth to go 'poof' and let's move on with the story. 

John *Blink**Blink* Huh? Two of them? Too bad he's not Juraian. ^^ 

Lina *sweat drops* Err… was it that bad of a cliffhanger?

Eric Oh and Blizz Thanks for the offer. I'll think about it in the future chapters to come.

**Pairings:**

Chizuru - 6

Leona - 3

Shermie - 3 

Mature – 1

Don't care/not yet decided - 3

I received some votes on e-mail so I counted those too. 

Well it looks like Chizzy Baby (sorry Red Priest, can't help it! ^^) is in the lead at the moment. Yes, as Integra-Hellsing, Eric Oh and X247 explained, it will be a tough job to get the two together but I'll manage somehow if she is the one chosen. You can still vote because I will not rush Ranma's relationship with anyone yet anyway.

Flames of Destiny

By Luc

**Chapter 3: A Child at Heart**

* * *

A five year old Ranma is running around the yard of the Saotome residence chasing his pet cat. 

"Come here neko-chan!"

The cat meowed and pounced on the innocent boy and begins licking his face.

"Ahahaha… stop… haha…" chibi-Ranma said in between giggles. 

"Ranma-chan, come inside before you catch a cold!" a soft, caring voice said.

"Haha! Hai, momma!" the joyful youth shouted as he grabbed his pet cat and ran towards the house.

Inside the house, Nodoka watched with a smile as her son and his neko-chan eat the freshly baked cookies she made just for them. After eating, chibi-Ranma sat on his mother's lap while listening to his mother sing a soothing lullaby. When she finished, she looked down on the sleepy youth and smiled slightly.

"Ranma dear, what will you become when you grow up?" Nodoka asked while cradling her child in her arms.

"I wanna become a martial artist like touchan!" happily shouted chibi-Ranma. 

Nodoka's smile grew at that. "That's good dear, and what is the duty of a martial artist?"

Chibi-Ranma pondered for a minute. "Um… to protect the weak!" chibi-Ranma squealed happily.

//FLASH//

A six year old Ranma and Ukyou were sitting on a bench and eating some okonomiyaki.

"I'll promise to take care of you Ucchan! It's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak!"

//FLASH//

A ten year old Ranma was sitting on a rock near a river in the woods. The wind picks up; Ranma closes his eyes and feels the wind blowing through his hair.

"Beautiful… so peaceful…"

//FLASH//

During his fight with Saffron, when he was gathering the energy of the Gekkaja to add to his Hiryu Shoten Ha.

"It's my duty… to protect. Whatever I do, I must never cross that line, the line of death…" 

//FLASH//

Ranma was standing in a forest looking at the blue sky, the sky begins to darken, lightning can be seen almost everywhere and the sound of thunder was deafening. Ranma falls into a void and crashes hard onto the ground. He gets up and sees the entire tribe of the Phoenix people glaring at him. They were soon replaced by the people he knew in Nerima; they all had disgusted looks on their faces.

//FLASH//

"Murderer!" "Slayer of children!" "Bastard!" "Monster!" "Freak!" 

//FLASH//

Ranma only had one thought in his mind during this verbal assault.

_'To protect, nothing more… and I have failed…'_

* * *

Ranma woke up with a start. His body was drenched in sweat and his breathing was erratic. He looked at his hands and then he glanced at his surroundings. It was a large room with just a few decorations and figurines; a window with a light blue curtain was at his left. He sat up from the bed and instinctively rubbed his temple. 

_'That dream… no… my memories, and my only real failure…'_ he was broken out of his thoughts when he heard someone talking outside the door.

"Ranma dear, is everything okay?" 

Ranma suddenly remembered what happened. He turns toward the door and smiled slightly. "Yeah, I'm okay mom, it was just a nightmare." Ranma said in a polite tone.

"Oh, okay. Call me if you need anything for your trip alright?" Nodoka asked.

"Hai."

Ranma heard his mother's footsteps as she was walking away from the door. He stared at the door for a couple of minutes before he let off a heavy sigh.

_'That's right. I'm in my mom's house.' _Ranma glanced one more time around the room. _'My old room… It's been three days already since that talk with mom. Didn't know I was that tired, I was bedridden in those three days too. Orochi huh? So you were the one that gave me this curse.'_

****Flashback****

Ranma and Dr. Tofu arrived at the Saotome home. After a bone crushing hug from his mother, Ranma proceeded to explain what happened in China. Dr. Tofu would continue for him when he was not up to it. They finally got to the point where he showed Nodoka the flame.

"…I don't even know where I got it from." Ranma said as he closed his fist for the flames to extinguish.

The blue-eyed boy looked down to the ground, afraid of what his mother would think of him now. In the short time he has known her, he found out that she values honor more than anything. Well, next to him being manly that is… He glanced sideways at Dr. Tofu; he saw the good doctor raise an eyebrow towards the direction of his mother. Curious as to what caused the doctor to do that, he lifted his head, looked at his mother and blinked. His mother had a hand placed on her mouth, she is staring at his hand wide-eyed and he noticed that she is a few shades paler. He was about to ask her if she knew something about this curse but Tofu beat him to it.

"Mrs. Saotome, by any chance are either you or your husband related to the clan of the Yagami's?" Tofu asked bluntly.

The question seemed to have taken Nodoka out of her trance. "What? The Yagami clan? No, we are not connected to that clan if that's what you're asking…" she trailed off while breaking her gaze at her son.

Ranma sat there, confused with the conversation the two adults were having. _'If the doc knew the source of my curse why didn't he tell me about it? Does my mom know as well? And who or what is this Yagami clan?' Too many questions… he gathered himself and wisely kept his mouth shut as he listened intently to the discussion. _

"Then do you know why Ranma has the cursed flame that only Yagami clan members are supposed to possess?" Tofu asked the distraught woman.

"No, I don't know anything about that. By the way doctor, how do you know all of this?" The mother of Saotome Ranma asked. 

Tofu noticed the sudden change in topic but paid no heed to it. "I have read some news articles over the past few months about the King of Fighters tournament and a strange occurrence that transpired there during the last two tournaments."

"What strange occurrence would that be?" The Saotome Matriarch asked.

"This…" Dr. Tofu pulled out a newspaper clipping about a man named Iori Yagami tearing into the audience while wielding purple flames. "…was taken during the last tournament. Since then I have been studying the Yagami curse in my spare time."

Ranma just sat there in stunned silence. _'That man… he… he has the same curse that I have!'_

"All I know of the Yagami curse is that it was given to them by the legendary demon Orochi." Dr. Tofu finished.

_'Orochi?!'_ Ranma's eyes widened at the thought. He grabs Tofu by the collar and begins to shake him violently. He wanted answers! "Orochi?! You mean THE Orochi?! Who is this guy?! What is the Yagami clan?! What does this have to do with that eight-headed monster?! TELL ME!!!"

"Ranma! Please calm down!" Nodoka pleaded.

_'Dammit, don't lose it Ranma… soul of ice.' _"Fine… tell me everything you know doc." The ponytailed boy said as he released his grip on the unnerved doctor.

Dr. Tofu audibly gulped, the look in Ranma's eyes promised pain, friend or no, if he lies or holds anything back on the information regarding the curse.

"To answer your questions… yes, the legendary monster Orochi. This man in the article is Iori Yagami, from what I heard, he is the last of the cursed clan of the Yagami. As for the Yagami curse, I'm not really sure how they got it. There have been countless stories regarding how the Yagami's got the curse but every story has the monster Orochi in it. It is said that the Orochi currently exist in a place called…" 

"Ryugenzawa." Ranma finished for him.

Both Tofu and Nodoka stared at him, mouth's agape. "Ho-how did you know that?!" the two adults asked in perfect synchronization.

Ranma gave them a brief description on what happened at Ryugenzawa and the time he blacked out during his fight with the monster. 

"I heard someone saying something… a punishment or a curse, I don't really know. When I woke up, I was already in Nerima. When I asked Akane about what happened, she malleted me saying that I killed the monster. I really don't know if I did kill it, the only thing I remember is that I was trying to fire off a Mouko Takabisha before I blacked out."

The Orochi-cursed boy looked at the two adults to see their reactions. Tofu was still staring at him; his mouth was still wide open. His mother was a different matter though; she was shaking like a leaf… fear? Fear from what? Well, whatever the problem is, it looks like she is not going to tell him anytime soon. 

"Anyway, I'd like to go and find some clues to this curse if that's okay with you mom." Ranma said while looking at his mother's shaken visage.

Nodoka quickly composed herself. "What? Oh my, yes, of course but can't you stay a bit longer?"

"I guess I am a bit tired… I'll stay for a couple of days before heading out."

Tofu took this opportunity to speak. "Ranma, I can give you the locations of shrines and temples that might have a clue about the curse. I hope this will help you in your search." 

****End Flashback****

_'My mother is hiding something from me, could it have something to do with this __fla__me? Why would she do that? Doesn't she understand what I am going through because I know nothing of this curse?! I wanted to shout at her, to berate her so that she can tell me what she knows but… I can't. She is still my mother and I would __nev__er do anything to hurt her intentionally.'_

That is why he was going on a trip. Tofu already suggested several shrines and temples that may have information regarding the Orochi legend and the Yagami curse. It's no use asking that Shinnosuke, he has the worse memory in the world and his granddad is as loony as Dr. Tofu is around Kasumi. 

He quickly packed his things by using Amaguriken speed and a little bit of Mousse's hidden weapons technique. He went downstairs and slowly opened the door leading outside to see his mother waiting there for him.

"Mom?"

Nodoka didn't respond, she just ran over to him and hugged him tight.

"My son, please take care. There are a lot of people that want the power of Orochi for themselves… that's all I can say for now. Come back once you have visited all of the places Tofu-sensei has told you about, I have something to explain to you upon your return." Tears were streaming down Nodoka's face as she finished what she had to say.

"I… okay. I love you mom…" Ranma trailed off.

"I love you too my son." 

* * *

**Saotome**** Home**

Nodoka watched as her son slowly vanishes from her sight. She dejectedly went back inside the house and marched straight forward into her room. She knelt beside her bed and began to reach out for something. She pulled it out; it was a small antique wooden box with some type of mark that resembles a compass engraved at the center. She opens it and takes out the content… a round, shiny, violet crystal. She holds the crystal tightly near her chest and she softly begins to weep.

"Mother… we couldn't escape it afterall…"

* * *

**Southtown******

A blond-haired man in a business suit was sitting comfortably in his chair. He tensed up when he felt another presence appear inside the room. He looks up and relaxes slightly.

"This is a surprise, my dear half-brother coming all this way just to see me." The blond-haired man said, amusement clearly evident in his voice.

"I don't have time to play games Geese; surely you've felt the power similar to that man Goenitz correct?"

"Yes I did. I already sent Billy to investigate the mystery surrounding the Orochi so I assigned this task to a mercenary for hire. I should be getting a report from him soon." Geese said as he swiveled his chair and faced the window.

"Hmmm… in that case I better stay for a while longer. I want to know who wields such power and of course… I also want to know which one of us is stronger." Krauser replied while leaning on a wall.

"Hahahaha! You will never change brother!"

"Neither will you…"

Their laughter echoed down the hall, laughter that will make anyone that hears it shudder in fear. 

* * *

**Osaka******

Ranma stepped out of the train and immediately looked at his surroundings, he really couldn't put his finger on it but he feels as if that something big is going to happen and that he will be at the center of it. Shaking his head, he heads toward the exit and onto the city. He was now looking for the first temple Tofu suggested, he was also about to go to a hotel when he heard a shout, a familiar disgusting shout that he thought he would never hear again. 

"What a haul! What a haul! Hahahahahah!"

Yep, it is none other than the perverted Grandmaster of Anything Goes with his usual sack of stolen women's undergarments. The angry mob of females ready to give the pervert their 'righteous wrath' was not far behind him. 

At first Ranma wanted to confront Happosai face to face and beat the tar out of him but he remembered he was supposed to be 'dead' so that's out of the question. He picked up an empty can and threw it in Happosai's path; the perverted master didn't have time to recover as he tripped on the can and got his head planted on the floor. Ranma smiled as the women proceeded to beat the old man out of his senses.

_'At least some things __nev__er change.' The ponytailed boy thought with a smirk._

He found out that all of the hotels had no vacancies so he decided to camp at the woods located outside the city. On the next day, he started looking for the temple when he was suddenly surrounded by five men armed with knives. The odd thing is that they showed up during the day, in a public area no less. 

"Before you guys do anything, I wanna ask a question first. Does any one of you have some sort of grudge against Genma Saotome?" _'Better get this over with; knowing pops he'll probably say that it's my fault just to get out of the mess he made.'_

"No, we don't know any Genma Saotome. We've come here on orders from our boss." A goon said.

"Oh? And who may I ask is this 'boss' of yours?" the ponytailed boy asked.

Another goon stepped up. "Our boss is none other than Yamazaki, and we are from his gang." 

"Is that supposed to scare me? Yamazaki or whatever, you're in my way… get out or get hurt." As Ranma finished, his face turned into an emotionless mask and he had a cold gleam in his eyes.

"Whatever kid, we want to see you use your flame!" the third member of Yamazaki's gang shouted as he charged the ponytailed boy… only to be blasted by a ki blast. 

"My flame? I don't need any flame against losers like you!" Ranma said as he quickly disarmed two more goons and knocked them out with just his normal kicks and punches. The remaining two quickly ran way, probably to report back to this 'Yamazaki' fellow.

Ranma blinked once, then twice. "That was… pathetic to say the least." He grabbed his pack and turns only to find a boy blocking his path. He looks no older than fourteen, has brown hair and is wearing a dark blue shirt and white pants. He was carrying a large backpack as well.

"Don't tell me you're one of them too." Ranma said in a rather irritated tone. Hey, this is Ranma were talking about here, he has been attacked by children before.

The boy ignored what Ranma said and he seems to be having some difficulty in speaking. "I… uh… I… err…" the boy mumbled.

"Well, if you've got nothing else to say…" the ponytailed boy trailed off. _'Have I met him before? My feelings tell me that I should know this kid… Whatever!'_

"Can you teach me how to fight?" the brown-haired boy asked.

Ranma raised an eyebrow, not because of the boy's question; it's because of what he is feeling inside. _'Yes… Wait, where did that come from?! Do I want to teach him? Yes… yes I do.' _ Sighing, he could only say one thing in response.

"Sure, come with me if you want me to teach you my style." '_Yeah, it's my style… I have Anything Goes along with Amazon Wu Shu that I have improvised to form new, more powerful attacks… and most of all… I have this _fla___me as a technique of my own as well.'_

"Okay!" the brown-haired boy said enthusiastically.

"By the way, I'm Ranma… Ranma Saotome. What's your name?" 

"Chris… just Chris. It's nice to meet you Ranma."

* * *

**City Outskirts **

Ranma and Chris were walking towards the forest area. Chris was walking casually; his hands are inside his pockets while Ranma has his hands at the back of his head.

"So… why do you want to learn martial arts? And why did you choose me of all people?" Ranma asked.

"Well, I saw you fight those men and you relied on your speed but not your strength just like I do. I also noticed that you hit each person around ten to twenty times… either you are really good or just really weak to hit them so much just to knock them out cold. Anyway…" 

As Chris continued to praise and insult the ponytailed boy's skill, Ranma already developed a very noticeable twitch. His blue-violet aura was flickering wildly behind him as well. 

_'Must not kill the boy, No matter how irritating the brat is, he is still your student. Do not succumb to the urges no matter how you would like to do so at this moment just to rip his scrawny little head off, do not think of burning him alive with your flame, do not even think of beating the tar out of him, must not kill the boy…' _Ranma repeated this little mantra over and over again until they arrived at the area where Ranma spent the night yesterday.

"We are finally here…" 

"Um… just out of curiosity, why did you choose a forest?" Chris asked in that 'oh so cute' tone.

"Huh? Oh! I just love it here, to be one with nature. It's peaceful and beautiful not like in the cities I've seen so far." Ranma answered as he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of birds chirping, rivers flowing and trees swaying. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised that Chris was doing the same thing.

"Yeah, I know… we people take nature for granted. I would prefer to live with nature rather than with technology built by humans… what?" Chris asked as he heard Ranma chuckle.

"Nothing! I just find it funny that we are so much alike." The ponytailed boy said.

"Huh?" the bewildered brown-haired boy asked. 

"I'll tell you about it some other time, right now I'd like to see how you fare against me in a fight." 

Ranma went into a defensive stance. Chris' eyes narrowed as he tried to look for holes in Ranma's stance. Finding an opening just above the ponytailed boy's waist, he used his speed and attempted a straight punch at that hole in Ranma's defense. Ranma easily sidestepped the brown-haired boy's attack; he was also evaluating Chris' style at the same time.

_'He's as fast as my female form! He is __ind__eed fast and I think he can easily dodge most attacks but his offense is almost non-existent. He does have a knack for finding weak points in an opponent though…' Ranma thought as he felt a few punches connect to his side._

"Okay, I think I saw enough. Yes, we do have similar styles of fighting… you use your incredible speed and your quick thinking in battle just as much as I do. I do not rely on physical strength per say but it is still necessary in defeating an opponent."

Ranma proceeded to teach Chris the proper way to throw basic punches and kicks. It amazed him how fast the brown-haired boy was picking up the moves one by one. By the end of the day, Chris has learned most of the basic moves of Anything Goes. 

* * *

In the next few days, Ranma kinda liked having the little brat around. Insults aside, he really is an outstanding student. The two of them found out more about one another as well. Ranma found out that Chris hates to be patted on the head and to be complimented as a 'cute' boy. Ranma also discovered that Chris hates gummy candy with a passion; he says that it reminds him of his days at the orphanage.

Ranma's gender-changing curse was revealed to Chris a few days later. At first Chris thought it was a girl that got lost in the woods… so Ranma-chan played him for awhile and then joked around as she tried to seduce the poor, naïve, little boy. Chris was as red as a tomato even after Ranma showed his curse to the embarrassed brown-haired boy. At least Chris finally understood what Ranma meant when he said that he can relate to being called 'cute' by people.

A week has passed and Chris can now hold his own against Ranma in the air for quite a long time. He also managed to learn the Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken while having only seen it practiced by Ranma once. Finally, Chris decided to ask Ranma about his parents…

"Ranma, what does it feel like to have parents?" Chris asked with curiosity. 

Ranma choked… _'What am I gonna tell him? I love my mom and dad?! Yeah right! Better get this over with.' _"I honestly don't know…" 

"What?! You said you've known you're parents!" the 'cute' boy shouted.

"I really don't know… I mean, my pops took me away from my mother when I was five years old to train me in martial arts to make me a 'man among men' or so he claims. In reality, he just wanted a meal ticket to set him up for life. He sold me to various families for food and stuff and then stole me right back. He kept on doing it over and over until those families that he swindled with my life finally tracked him down. Instead of paying his debt, he ordered me to take care of HIS problems for him! Is that how a real father treats his child? I don't think so! 

My mother… my mother threatened to kill me if I do not fit her description of being 'manly' at one point in time. Heh, I was scared out of my wits! I turn into a girl for crying out loud! How the heck is that 'manly'? Fortunately, she accepted the curse in the end but I can feel that her love for me has been… inconsistent. Now, you know… even though I have my parents, I still don't know them at all."

Chris and Ranma never said a word after that; both were lost in their own thoughts as they went to sleep. Next day, Ranma decided to visit the shrine in the area…

"Can I come?" Chris asked in his 'I'm so cute, how can you refuse?' voice.

Sighing, Ranma reluctantly agreed. Be it male or female, he really has no defense for those cute acts, especially the puppy-dog eyes technique. They made their way into the shrine… Ranma asked his student to wait outside, Chris pouted but Ranma just teased him and patted him on the head for being 'cute', which shut the brown-haired boy up. 

It took a couple of minutes but Ranma got at least some sort of information regarding the flame called 'magatama no Orochi'. He really couldn't understand the shrine keeper as the old lady was constantly talking in riddles. 

"How did it go?" the 'cute' boy asked.

"It went fine… at least I got some information, that old bat was talking in riddles."

Chris smirked. "Sure she is… but I'll bet you fell asleep along the way and missed the more important part of the one you were looking for." 

A vein popped out of Ranma's forehead. "THAT'S IT! COME HERE YOU BRAT!" the ponytailed boy screeched.

Chris merely stuck his tongue at his sensei. "Bleah! Can't catch me!" the 'cute' brat taunted as he quickly dashed down the shrine steps.

* * *

**Shrine Entrance**

A woman dressed in a business suit was slowly climbing up the shrine steps; she has long dark hair with matching gold earrings and a white headband. She almost lost her balance when two blurs ran past her. She turns around just in time to see a handsome man, whose black hair is tied in a loose ponytail, chasing a cute brown-haired boy outside the shrine. She was about to dismiss the incident when she recognized the aura that the handsome man left.

_'Orochi power?!__ Oh no!'_

She ran with all her might up the stairs and towards the shrine. She hurriedly opened the door to the shrine, thinking of the worse possible scenario… only to find the old shrine keeper calmly drinking a cup of tea. She blinked at the scene once then face-faulted in a dignified fashion.

"Umm…"

"Oh, Chizuru-san! Glad you could visit! Come in, come in!" the old lady said to the bewildered priestess.

"Wait a minute here! I just saw someone with Orochi blood leave the shrine! What happened?!" Chizuru all but shrieked. 

The old lady took another sip of her tea. "Calm yourself down child; it's not what you think."

Breathing deeply for a couple of seconds, Chizuru composed herself and calmly talked to the shrine keeper. "Okay… tell me, who was that man and what did he want with you?"

"That man has lived a hard life, and he could possibly have a harder one in the future." The old lady said as she told the priestess some of the things that they talked about earlier. She did not give Chizuru the man's name and how he obtained the Orochi curse.

* * *

**City Outskirts**

Ranma and his student went on with their normal routine of practice and insult for a few more days. Then Chris began to have nightmares in his sleep. He couldn't give Ranma the details but it has something to do with him leaving the country…

"So you're leaving?" Ranma asked.

Chris stared at the ground while shuffling his feet. "Yeah, I feel like there is something important that I must do. The dream that I'm having is trying to tell me something as well… I don't know what it is but I must go." The brown-haired boy finished sadly.

"I know how it feels like… I've had my share of dreams before. Well, at least I won't have to worry about you getting beat up anymore now do I?" joked Ranma.

Chris chuckled a bit before answering. "Yeah, I guess not." The brown-haired boy then faced Ranma and bowed deeply. "Thank you for teaching me your style sensei, I hope I can make you proud."

"Yeah, yeah… Let's eat! I'm starving!" the ponytailed boy exclaimed.

Ranma and Chris decided to have a large feast later that night. Surprisingly, Chris bought a couple of sake for them to drink into the night as well.

"Do you drink sake Ranma?" Chris curiously asked.

"No I don't, it's bad for my reflexes." Ranma replied.

"Or you're just a lousy drunk!" the brown-haired boy said as he drank from the wine bottle.

Ranma glared daggers at Chris, who just ignored it. "WHAT?!" the ponytailed boy bellowed.

"You heard me! You're a lousy drunk; I bet you can't even drink a full bottle of sake even if your life depended on it! That's why *hic* you don't drink!" Chris snapped back while smirking.

Fume was coming out of Ranma's ears. "Take that back! Besides, aren't you a little young to be drinking such strong sake in the first place?"

"Don't try to change the subject sensei; you're just a sore loser! Haha! Anyway, in my country, they let their children drink sake even when they are only twelve years old! See, even twelve year old kids are better than you in drinking! What do you say to that?! Hahaha!" Chris laughed as he rolled on the ground while clutching his sides.

"FINE! I'll show you!" Ranma said as he grabbed a bottle of sake and began to chug on it.

"Hey, are you sure you can handle it?" Chris asked in a concerned voice.

Ranma finishes drinking the bottle. "It's *hic* no *hic* problem! I can drink *hic* more than *hic* you can, that's *hic* for sure!"

"Is that a challenge sensei?"

"Of *hic* course it is, you *hic* brat!"

"Heheh, you're on!"

* * *

Ranma woke up groggily the next day. _'Note to self: Sake really is NOT your field.' _He stretched his arms and legs; he got a pail of water and splashed himself, triggering his curse. She was about to wake Chris up until she remembered what they talked about last night. She then spotted a note stuck in between her new set of clothes.

_Ranma__,_

_Sorry I had to go. I have to admit that it was fun spending time with you, but I really feel as if I have something else to do that is very important. Anyway, thanks for the lessons and most of all… thank you for being my friend._

_P.S. Anything Goes 101: You really do suck at drinking sake! _

Ranma-chan resisted the urge to twitch. _'Why that… that… Ooh! He is really pushing it! Heheh, have a safe trip Chris… and wait till you see what's inside your pack.' _She then poured hot water on herself turning her back to her normal form. He quickly packed his things and went towards the city.

* * *

**Onboard an airplane**

Chris leaned back on his chair as the plane takes off. He really liked spending time with Ranma; he also liked to tease the hell out of him. If not for these dreams that he is having then he could have stayed with his kind yet weird sensei. He opened his sidepack to eat some of his favorite sweets only to find a note on top.

_Chris,_

_I'm really sad you had to go but hey, that's life. You have no idea how much you've helped me as well… and I thank you for that. I hope we meet again._

_P.S. Anything Goes 101: Sorry! But I replaced your favorite sweets with MY favorite… gummy candy! Heheheh!_

"RAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNMMMMMAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

* * *

**Osaka****: Inside a Coffee Shop**

Ranma sneezed as he was about to drink a cup of coffee to shake him out of his hangover. He was going through the list that Tofu gave him to decide which one of the shrines he's going to visit next. He was ignoring the people passing by the window that is until he caught sight of a red-haired man wearing sunglasses standing across the street. He quickly pulled out the news article and he began to compare the features of the man in the paper with the red-haired man across the street.

_'It's him!' _

Ranma quickly paid for his drink and dashed out of the shop. _'I can't lose sight of him now; he's the best chance I got in finding out the history of the magatama __fla__me of death!'_

* * *

"You're Iori Yagami, right?"

The man in shades looked at Ranma and then shoved right past him as if he wasn't even there. Ranma internally smirked, time for one of pops' old tricks.

"I guess you're not him. From what I hear, Iori is not a coward like you." 

THAT caught the red-haired man's attention. 

"What did you just say?" The man said in a dangerous tone. The spectators immediately backed away from impending collision of the two men.

"You heard me; the man I'm looking for is definitely NOT a coward." 

The man removed his shades and looked at Ranma over his shoulder. He then smirks a little. "Fine, I haven't had a decent workout in quite a while anyway."

The two men moved away from one another, both not taking their eyes off of each other. The two of them got into their own fighting stance. The crowd looks on and eagerly awaits the upcoming battle… at a certain distance of course. 

"Che… sugu raku ni shite yaru. (1)" The red-haired man said as he turned and faced Ranma in a rather casual stance.

Ranma gave him a smirk of his own, a smirk that annoys the hell out of his opponents. "Feh, I doubt that." The ponytailed boy said. He then went into a regular Anything Goes stance.

The fight is on!

* * *

(1) – "I will soon end your pain." 

# # #

**AN: **Ack! Gomen! Been a bit preoccupied because my friend just won an arcade system of KOF 2003 (lucky bast…) *ahem* Stupid illusions! Kagura sisters' end warp! Stupid Mukai! I'll get you, oh yes I'll get you… (Sees people staring at him) Uh… *ahem* don't mind me… eheheh…

Anyway, I'll try to update sooner (I can only work on this fic one or two hours every other day). Some of you may think that Chris is OOC here but remember that this is before he met Yashiro and Shermie and before his Orochi blood awakens, meaning he is still a normal, lonely kid. 

Yeah, I know… I'm kinda changing a bit of the history with CYS so please bear with it. Oh, Ranma and Chris' thoughts will be discussed in the interlude which I'll be posting in about a day or two.

Some people may think that this is a 'Ranma is a god' fic but it isn't. True, Ranma indeed demolish a mountain but that was when he went into the Riot of Blood. He can't control a powerful force such as that without going insane (at least not yet anyway ^^). Besides, we will finally see his first fight against a VERY experienced fighter next chapter… (Heheh, took a page out of Gundraw's book, bet it'll annoy X247 to no end ^_^)

For those of you, who have played KOF and don't know the line near the end, shame on you. =P

Welllllllllll… gotta go for round two! Ja ne!  

- Luc

Next **Interlude I: Loneliness**


	4. Interlude I: Loneliness

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters x-over fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or King of Fighters… (deeeeep sigh)

**Just A Little Update:**

Revised Chapter 1, corrected some mistakes in Chapter 2.

Chizuru is still leading but only by a slim margin over Shermie. (I guess a lot of people like her 'assets' huh? ^^)

Working on Chapter 4 now… kinda hit a snag at a few scenes but I hope that I can finish it by the end of the week.

DoWNEr *Blink* Huh? What makes you think that this fic is a SI? I added Chris because like it or not, he is one of the main characters in KOF '97. If I didn't include Chris in the fic and just replace him with Ranma then that would've been nothing more than a cheap retelling of the KOF saga with Ranma in Chris' place. 

Xeo Arigato. Nope, Shermie is not too far behind Chizzy Baby ^_^; I'll post the second counting next chapter.  

Flames of Destiny 

By Luc

**Interlude I: Loneliness**

Note: You should try listening to KOF '97/98 'Mad Fantasy' while reading this.

* * *

_Alone… always alone…_

_Ever since I was little, I was always alone._

_No parents since I could remember, adopted by numerous families, only to be brought back to the orphanage. _

_I felt no love for those families that took me in, I felt more alone with them rather than without them._

_Was it Jealousy? Envy? Longing?_

_I already knew that I will not receive the same kind of love that their real children get from them._

_There have been times that made me think that I'll have the love I so desire in the afterlife but… I can't._

_I feel as if I still have something left to do in this world, something that will change my life completely._

_That's when I decided that the only one I will truly believe in is myself._

_So I tried to do everything by myself, I learned to cook, clean and do things by myself. I even managed to get a job at my young age._

_I wanted everyone to see what I can do! I wanted to show them all!_

_Then, sleepless nights came to me… I wanted to know who my real parents are… I wanted to know if they loved me…_

_So I left the orphanage. And with the money that I have earned in those years of work, I began searching for my past._

_I traveled around the world, almost always getting no clue whatsoever, until I arrived in __Japan__._

_I feel as if someone is calling me in that land, telling me things that I have yet to understand._

_And wouldn't you know it? I found my parents at last… buried in a small cemetery._

_The love I longed for… only to have the chance of having it taken away from me in a cruel twist of fate._

_I inherited their money, but I feel hollow inside…_

_I decided to go back to __Sweden__, but that's when I saw him…_

_His eyes are the same as mine._

_The feeling of loneliness surrounding him just as it was enveloping myself. _

_The man's name is Ranma Saotome._

_I had introduced myself to him and asked him if he could teach me how to fight, to protect myself and have fun doing it in the process._

_We spent a couple of days basked in nature's glory._

_In that short time I feel as if I have an older brother, a big brother to look up to… a brother whom I can trust with my life. But that doesn't mean that I can't joke around his cursed form once in a while._

_I don't know what it is but when I am with him, I feel… complete. The emptiness inside me is being filled by him. I feel more alive than ever before! It's almost as if that we've known each other for a very long time no matter how crazy that could be._

_I think he noticed it too… and I think I'm having the same effect on him as well._

_I thought for sure that I have found what I was looking for but… the dreams returned._

_That's when I was forced to leave the only one that I ever considered as family._

_I wanted to find my purpose in life once and for all; I can only hope that I'll meet him again…_

_Next time, dreams or no, I will choose to stay by his side…_

* * *

_Alone… always alone…_

_I was never like this… monster that some people think that I have become._

_I remember growing up like a normal child, basking in the love given to me by my mother and father._

_I cried tears of sorrow when I was forced to leave my mother and our home._

_Each time my 'father' beats me within an inch of my life, I silently wept at night and __wis__hed for the nightmare to end._

_I was forced to fear those which I love when my father threw me into that damned pit._

_I wanted it to stop! I wanted it to end!_

_I contemplated on committing suicide so the pain of betrayal that I felt in my heart would finally end._

_But I keep on remembering her… my mother. Thinking of her grief upon my death made me think twice._

_I… I have to go on… I have to… in order to be in my mother's arms once more._

_So I lived, to feel more pain, more betrayals, more suffering…_

_Until she came into my life once again… but it was __nev__er meant to be.___

_My memories of the sweet, caring mother I remembered since I was a child was suddenly snuffed out._

_The one I saw was a woman willing to kill her own child if he did not meet her demented expectations._

_Betrayed once again… by the one that I think I loved more than life itself._

_My hope died along with the memories of the loving mother I once knew…_

_Ever since that day, I started distancing myself from others, unnoticeably rejecting everyone around me._

_Then that incident came to pass…_

_A voice called out to me, asking me if I wanted others to feel pain and suffering like I did. My answer…_

_Yes…_

_That was it. I have given in to my darkest thoughts and desires, and it gave me powers beyond my wildest dreams… but with that power comes a horrible price…_

_It forces me to recall everything that I have suffered since I was a child thus it brings out the worse in me. When the pain becomes too much to bear… I will become a monster._

_Even when I decided to return, I was forced to leave my life and start a new one. A new life with a new curse…_

_I didn't want to do it but I figured I might as well face the music._

_Dr. Tofu wanted me to meet my mother again…_

_I had no qualms committing seppuku if need be… what I don't want to see is the look of disgust and rejection on my mother's face when I tell her what really happened in __China__._

_To my surprise, she just held me tight in her arms. I was lost in her gentle embrace… this is the mother that I knew, the mother that I love…_

_Even if I did get my mother back, she was still hiding things from me… and I think it has got to do with this curse of Orochi._

_I left the place soon after, hoping that when I come back, she will be ready to tell me the truth._

_I began searching for clues about Orochi and this 'magatama' __fla__me._

_One day I was attacked by a group of men claiming to be part of 'Yamazaki's gang'. Whoever this Yamazaki is, I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him._

_After that lame assault, I was confronted by a young boy… a boy that reminded me so much of myself._

_It surprised me how easily I agreed to train him. I decided to teach him the basics of Anything Goes… meaning insulting your opponents while fighting them._

_It shocked me even more to find out that he was already doing those things before he came to me. He really is a natural in the style._

_His speed is as fast if not faster than my female form, so dodging attacks is pretty easy for him. In just a few days he has already mastered the basics and was already trying to improve the techniques taught to him… heh, just like myself._

_In that short time I have come to think of him as the brother I __nev__er had. _

_Though he denies it as much as I do, we feel a sense of belonging when we are together… we know each other's pain… each other's loneliness._

_The burden that I hold in my heart was slowly being lifted by his carefree attitude._

_When he left abruptly, I finally noticed that the loneliness that I felt before meeting him has been reduced because now I know that there is someone that understands what I am going through._

_The one whom I love as a younger brother, the one whom I think I care for more than my parents._

_I hope he finds what he is looking for and if by some chance we meet again…_

_I would be honored to have him as a part of the family…_

* * *

# # #

**AN:** Just a little insight on Chris and Ranma. It will also help the readers understand Chris a little better than with what they saw in Chapter 3 and in the game itself and I do hope this explains the 'brotherly' attitude of Ranma in Chapter 3. 

Ranma uses the soul of ice when he fights and when he feels that he is losing control of himself to maintain his composure and to resist the urges he feels inside (Riot of Blood). Other than that, he reverts back to his original self (Just a little more 'mature' *Yes, pun intended… next chapter anyway ^^* in some aspects) when he is not fighting the urges. (Those that played KOF '96-'97 will know why the manic urges of Orochi happen the most during fights) 

Ite… sorry, just having a bit of a migraine right now. So I'll just rest for a day or two first, Ja ne! 

Next Chapter **The**** Path Taken**


	5. The Path Taken

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters x-over fanfiction

Disclaimer: zzzZZZZZ… Wha? Oh, don't own them… zzzzzZZZZZZ…

**Pairing:**

Chizuru: 13

Shermie: 13

Leona: 5

The rest (Mature, Kasumi and Nabs): 1, 2, 1 respectively.

Don't care/hadn't decided: 4

E-mail votes counted as well.

**AN:** Well, well, well… Shermie is tied with Chizzy-baby. I was thinking if you guys want me to stop the polls for awhile and just have both Chizuru and Shermie (maybe even Leona) interact with our Orochi-cursed martial artist. That way, you can have a better perspective in regards to the girls and I'll let you decide which one is the better choice when I make one last deciding poll later on. Is that okay with you? (*shrugs* Oh well… really too bad he's not Juraian ^^)

Flames of Destiny 

By Luc

Chapter 4: **The Path Taken**

* * *

Ranma studied his opponent with a critical eye. _'Either he underestimates me or he just likes to leave himself open.' _thought Ranma as he observed the red-haired man's casual stance. 

"What's wrong? Are you afraid of me?" Iori taunted. He then smirked after seeing the scowl on Ranma's face.

_'That's fine by me…' _Ranma thought as he charged Iori straight out. He was surprised to see Iori remain in that stance and was even more surprised that his punch connected to the red-haired man's face causing Iori's head to jerk back a little from the impact. 

Iori quickly recovered from the punch as he grabbed Ranma's face and slammed it hard into the ground. Ranma countered with a knee to the red-haired man's stomach but Iori acted like it didn't even hurt him. He tore into Ranma's clothes with his bare hands like a wild animal would do to its prey.

_'Why the hell am I thinking of ca-cats now?!'_Ranma thought as he parried Iori's sharp fingers to the side.

Tired of Ranma's defensive stance, Iori began concentrating and then his purple flames of death appeared. "Feel the pain of my ancestors! Dark Thrust!" 

A wave of magatama no Orochi made its way toward the ponytailed boy. Ranma jumped over the projectile and was preparing himself for a downward kick but Iori reached for the ponytailed boy's extended leg with his arm, twisted it and then threw Ranma with more than enough force to send the ponytailed boy flying towards a glass door of a shopping mall. 

Iori slowly walked towards the place, the dust around the area hasn't dispersed yet so he couldn't get a good view from outside the shopping mall. He was almost inside the place when he was suddenly pushed back by a hard kick to his chest. Ranma followed it up with a shot to the ribs and then a roundhouse kick to Iori's head, causing Iori to fall to the ground hard.  

It's Ranma's turn to gloat over the downed form of the red-haired man. "This fight is mine, Yagami."

Iori suddenly stopped grimacing in pain and just stared at the floor wide-eyed. _'That… that line…' _

//FLASH//

1996 King of Fighters tournament 

"We still hadn't decided the victor! I don't care about the rules! FIGHT ME!!!" 

"This fight is mine, Yagami… its over." Kyo said as he walked away from the downed Yagami. 

//FLASH//

Iori smiled a manic smile that made Ranma tense for a moment before going into a defensive stance. As Iori starts to get up, he covers his face with his left hand and begins to laugh quietly. "Hm Hm Hm… Heh Heh Heh…"

"What's so funny?" Ranma asked the slightly deranged man.

Iori managed to suppress his laughter. "Nothing… you just reminded me of someone… someone I know. Someone I hate with a passion… someone I want to kill so badly… since he's not here… I'll just have to settle with YOU!!!" 

* * *

**Rooftops**

Billy Kane was watching the fight down below with interest. In the time he spent observing the last descendant of the cursed Yagami clan, Iori has never partaken in a fight unless it concerns that Kusanagi boy so he was wondering what had gotten into Iori to fight the ponytailed boy so viciously.

He glanced at his watch. _'Right… got to report back to Geese.' _He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Geese's number.

* * *

**Southtown******

"Report." 

"Boss, Yagami is fighting someone right now. I don't know the details but it seems that the ponytailed boy must've pissed Yagami off in some way." Billy replied over the phone.

Geese raised an eyebrow at that. "Ponytailed boy? Billy… can you give me a better description of Yagami's opponent?" '_It may just be a coincidence but still…'_

"Huh? Yeah, black hair, blue eyes and he is wearing a loose black chinese shirt with matching black pants…" Billy paused when he heard Geese chuckle. "… is there something wrong boss?" 

"Who would've thought that the two persons I'm monitoring turned out to be enemies…" Geese muttered to himself. 

"Huh?"

"Nothing, just report back after the fight."

"Yes sir. I'll be going… $#%*!" Billy swore before hanging up.

Geese and Krauser looked at each other, blinked and then stared right back at the phone. 

* * *

**Back to the fight…******

Iori lunged at Ranma once again, trying to grab the ponytailed boy's head with his right hand. The ponytailed boy countered with a well-timed uppercut to Iori's face but was surprised to see that Iori didn't seem to be affected at all. Instead, the red-haired man continued his assault and managed to grab Ranma by his face with enough force to knock him down onto the concrete floor once more. 

_'Damn it! Is he getting stronger the longer we fight?!' _Ranma thought as he felt Iori's vice-like grip on his face tighten even more forcing him to crash deeper into the ground. _'I guess there is no other choice.' Ranma thought as he grabbed Iori's outstretched arm with both hands and started to concentrate._

"This is it… DIE!" yelled Iori as he was preparing to summon his purple flames. He suddenly felt Ranma's hands grab his arm. _'Heh, does he really think he can get it off? He's more stupid than I…' _Iori couldn't finish the thought as he caught sight of something flickering on Ranma's hands. His eyes widened as he finally got a good look at it. _'The hell?!'_

Both fighters screamed in pain as their bodies were engulfed in purple flames. 

* * *

**Rooftops**

Billy stared at the scene down below in shock. _'Bloody hell! Is he another Yagami?! How the hell could I have missed him? I checked and double checked the Yagami clan registry! I'm pretty sure that no one else besides Iori is still alive and __brea__thing… so how..?' For lack of better word, Billy was dumbfounded with the sudden turn of events. He prided himself with his work and he takes his job to heart so a slip-up like this one is a huge blow to him, not to mention…_

_'Geese is going to kill me…'_

* * *

**?????**

Two figures were watching the intense battle hidden in the shadows…

"So the rumors were true…" the first voice murmured. 

"Looks like it." the other voice replied.

* * *

Iori and Ranma quickly rolled over the ground in an attempt to put out the flames on their bodies. As the flames died down, both fighters shakily tried to stand up. Neither fighter was able to at the moment so both took a kneeling position facing each other.

Iori glared at Ranma. "Who… the hell… are you?!" the red-haired man said in between gasps.

Ranma smirked a little before answering. "Wouldn't… wouldn't you… like to know?" Ranma sputtered.

Iori scoffed at the ponytailed boy while trying to get up to his feet. "It doesn't matter… I'm just gonna beat it out of you!"

"Feh… that's my line!"

The two fighters leapt at each other yet again, both of them exchanging blows at a mind-boggling rate. This time however, their punches are reinforced with their own cursed flames. 

To the spectators, it seemed as if the fight is at a standstill between the two but if they were to look a little closer they would see that Iori has the upper hand. Whilst Ranma has the quickness behind his punches, he couldn't even get a clean hit because of Iori's longer reach combined with the red-haired man's own magatama no Orochi. 

_'Damn! I can't win like this!' _Ranma decided to change tactics; he ducked down to avoid Iori's flame-covered punch and proceeded to sweep the red-haired man's legs. 

Iori landed on the ground hard but instead of grimacing in pain, he responded with a kick of his own to Ranma's right knee. The ponytailed boy screamed as he felt the full force of Iori's kick connect to his knee. Iori continued his assault with two consecutive uppercuts to the preoccupied ponytailed boy followed by an overhead smash to Ranma's cranium. 

Ranma crashed face first into the ground. He slowly tried to get up but Iori just slammed his head right back into the floor. 

Iori wiped the blood from his mouth. "Is that it? Is that the best you can do?" taunted Iori as he grabbed the ponytailed boy by the neck and then forcefully lifted him off the ground. Iori looked in surprise as Ranma merely smirked in response.

"No… this is! Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken!" shouted Ranma as he broke free from Iori's hold and began punching into Iori's stomach at an astounding rate. Iori reeled back from the steady stream of punches to his body; Ranma then delivered a spinning kick to the red-haired man's head causing him to crash into a brick wall. 

Ranma went down on one knee as he coughed up blood at an alarming pace. _'NO! Not now! I must not lose control!' the ponytailed boy thought as he clutched his head in pain._

As the ponytailed boy was fighting down his urges, Iori has managed to get up to his feet even though his body was still in pain from Ranma's barrage of punches earlier. He spat out some blood and then began looking for his opponent, he saw the boy kneeling on the ground while coughing up more than enough blood than what is considered normal. _'Isn't that… the same way I looked before I lost control?' Iori asked himself. _'Doesn't matter, I'll beat him before he could even lose it!' __

Iori pounced on the unsuspecting ponytailed boy; he began slashing into Ranma's body with his bare hands. Ranma staggered after the assault, his entire body was filled with various cuts and lacerations. Iori leapt at Ranma once more intending on finishing the fight.

_'I… won't… LOSE!!!'_ Ranma cupped his hands in front of him."Mouko Takabisha!" shouted Ranma as a huge confidence-based ki blast darted towards the red-haired man. Iori was struck dead center causing him to be blasted into another wall. Ranma then fell to his knees while breathing heavily, that last attack of Iori's took a lot out of him.

Ranma's eyes widened as he saw Iori get back up to his feet albeit slowly. _'He IS getting stronger the more this fight goes on! In that case…' the ponytailed boy cups his hand once again. "Mouko Takabisha!" _

"Dark Thrust!" Iori shouted as his magatama no Orochi negated the ki attack.

Ranma did not stop there. "Mouko Takabisha Double!" Two ki blasts surge toward the red-haired man, Ranma was startled to see Iori duck under the attacks and resumed his assault on the ponytailed boy.

"Asobi wa… OWARI DA!!! (**1)" Iori proclaimed as he connected with a series of punches and slashes to the ponytailed boy. He grabbed Ranma by the shoulders, he grinned at the bloody figure in front of him. "Shi…" Iori was cut off by a knee strike to his chin forcing him to let go of Ranma. **

Unfortunately for the ponytailed boy, the one he used to counterattack was his injured right knee. He falls to the ground with a large thump… _'Great… looks like I won't be doing flips for awhile…' Ranma thought as he clutched his right knee. He then saw Iori scowl at him__ 'It's now or __nev__er…' Ranma shakily stood up and managed to smirk at the red-haired man._

"Heh, shall I finish this?" asked the arrogant ponytailed boy. 

"The hell you are! You can't even stand straight anymore moron!" Iori snapped back.

Ranma's grin widened even more. "Just shut up and fight!"

Iori, enraged by Ranma's taunts and attitude, lunged at the ponytailed boy like a wild animal running on pure instinct. He was furiously slashing and punching into Ranma's defense that he didn't notice that they were going in circles… a spiral actually. Ranma on the other hand, just stayed on the defensive. He has gotten used to the soul of ice technique to such a degree that he can perform it in an instant. Iori thought that Ranma has nowhere else to go so he attempted an all out charge at the ponytailed boy. Ranma just raised a lazy uppercut…

"HIRYU SHOTEN HA!!!"

Iori swore loudly as the tornado lifted him off the ground. He screamed in pain as he was struck repeatedly by the intense winds inside the hurricane. Ranma was about to let off a sigh of relief but then his right knee gave in as it couldn't handle the air pressure causing him to lose balance thus getting himself sucked up into the hurricane as well. The hurricane lasted for ten minutes before it showed any signs of weakening. Both fighters were then flung across the sky to the far opposite sides of the street. 

Ranma tried to stand up but his injuries got the better of him, his vision started to blur and unconsciousness followed suit. _'Damn…'_

Iori shared similar thoughts with the blue-eyed boy as his wounds and exhaustion finally caught up to him as well.

* * *

**Rooftops**

"Bloody hell! I lost them! Where in the bloody hell did that tornado come from anyway?!" Billy asked himself in a mixture of astonishment and disbelief. 

_'No, no, no… focus. You still have a job to do Billy.' _With that thought, he decided to report back to Geese.

* * *

**Southtown******

"Well..?" 

"I… um… err…" Billy mumbled over the phone.

"Billy, what happened to the fight?" asked an irritated Geese.

That tone of voice snapped Billy from his shock. "Oh! The fight… err… I don't know boss…" a dejected Billy answered.

Rubbing his temple, Geese asked another question. "What? Billy, what can you remember?"

"Well… that boy used the… magatama no Orochi as well…" he trailed off.

"And?"

"Well… the boy used some sort of tornado right near the end and all went to hell after that."

_'A tornado?__ Hmmm…' Geese sighed. "Fine… try and find those two as soon as possible."_

"Yes sir."

Geese then turned to his half-brother. "What do you think?"

"This just confirms it, another one with that mysterious Orochi blood." Krauser said. He then turns around and heads toward the door. 

Geese merely raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

"You should know the answer to that." With that said, he quietly left the room. 

Geese remained silent for a minute before he started laughing like a madman as he got out of his chair and out of the room as well.

* * *

**Osaka**** battle ruins**

Police soon arrived at the scene… or what's left of it. The entire street was destroyed, the front of the buildings was scorched, and some were not even recognizable anymore. Fortunately, neither Iori nor Ranma were found at the scene… like the two of them just vanished into thin air. Unfortunately for those two, a news crew managed to capture the closing moments of the fight…

* * *

**A couple of hours later…**

**?????**

Ranma Saotome was in a world of hurt. He can feel that his entire body was covered with massive cuts and bruises from that Hiryu Shoten Ha of his but the question in his mind was… where in the world is he? He opened his eyes but he quickly shut it back due to the strong lighting in the room. He tried moving his body but it was a futile attempt as he was once again struck by a tremendous surge of pain that made him groan loudly. 

"How do you feel?" a soft voice soothingly whispered.

"Like I've been fighting Cologne and Happosai at the same time..." Ranma reflexively answered. "… Either that or I was hit by several ten wheelers in a row…" he then stiffened when he realized that he was talking to somebody he doesn't even know.  "… who?" he asked. 

He turned to the source of the voice and tried once again to open his eyes, he managed to open them… only to have his vision blocked by an abundant amount of cleavage. His eyes widened and he completely forgot about his injuries as he suddenly jumped from the bed and rolled onto the ground. _'A girl here? Alone with me?!  Not good!' _The ponytailed boy thought before being hit again by the painful surge on his entire body causing him to scream loudly.

Giggling at the boy's antics, the owner of the voice slowly approached Ranma. "My! You're a funny one… and cute too!" the soft voice said causing Ranma to blush beet red even when under extreme pain.

Ranma slowly opened his eyes this time and looked up. It was an attractive woman with blonde hair and clear blue eyes that is similar to his. She is wearing a black dress, a white jacket and a pair of earrings. "Who are you? Where am I?"

The blonde woman beamed at him. "Oh! I'm sorry, you're at my hotel room. My name is Mature and you are?" she asked while leaning closer towards the ponytailed boy.

Ranma gulped as he caught sight of those attributes once more. "R-R-R-Ranma Saotome." _'Not good! I can't move my body!' _"Wh-Where you the one that helped me?" he asked. 

"Yes, me and my friend saw you fight Iori and we decided to help you when you became unconscious." She responded as she sat by the bed. 

"Uh… thanks and…" he paused when her words sank in. "You know Iori?!" shouted Ranma. He slowly stood up, enduring the pain in doing so, and looked at Mature seriously.

"No need to give me that look." She calmly responded. "Yes I do know him…" she said with a bit of anger in her voice. "Iori, me and my friend were partners during the last King of Fighters tournament, that is until he went berserk on us and tried to rip us to shreds."  

Ranma pondered for a minute. _'Now I remember… the article, she was one of two girls that tried to subdue Iori… that means that…' _"You are of Orochi blood..?" he asked warily.

Mature smiled at him in response. "I'm a full-blooded Orochi warrior… Mature of the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu (**2). Don't worry… I won't bite. What I'm wondering is your connection with Orochi… are you a member of the Yagami clan?" **

"Why does everybody always ask me that?! (**3)" Ranma bellowed. "I am NOT a Yagami! Never was, never will!"**

Mature just blinked at the sudden outburst. "Riiiight… can I ask how you got Orochi blood in you?"

The ponytailed boy glanced sideways. "I… I'm not sure myself. That's why I'm searching for clues about the Orochi and this damned flame."

The blonde-haired woman studied him for a moment. "I see… well, from what I saw earlier, I think that you only have a part of Orochi blood in you."

"Huh?"

"I said that you only have some Orochi blood in you. You were coughing up a lot of blood, that is a symptom of the phase half-breeds or one with a little bit of Orochi blood in them goes through… it is called the Riot of Blood." The blonde explained.

Ranma grabbed Mature by the shoulders. "What?!" the ponytailed boy shouted once more. 

Mature just smiled. "Don't be so surprised. I am of Orochi blood you know and I am more knowledgeable than Yagami when it comes to the history of Orochi."

"Please! Tell me everything! I want to know about this curse!"

Mature's smiled faltered for a bit. "Curse? I don't think you should only focus on its bad side, it has its benefits too you know…" she trailed off.

A frown was Ranma's response to that. "Benefits?! What benefits?! This damn curse made my life a living hell!!! Not to mention the dreams and nightmares that attacks me when I sleep!"

The blonde-haired woman's eyebrow shot up. "Dreams..? Nevermind. I meant the plus side, surely you've felt that the pain caused by those wounds is disappearing rather quickly haven't you? Or the fact that you can stand up after the thrashing your knee received when you fought Yagami. That is one example of the good things it gives you."

Ranma stared at the blonde before realization kicked in. _'She's right. I was pretty sure that I won't be able to use my right leg for a couple of weeks but I can only feel a slight soreness in my right knee right now.' _"Okay, let's take that as a given. What other 'benefits' would that monster give me?"

"Those that are of Orochi blood have an accelerated healing process. We are also a lot stronger than normal people so that's why you can do those things to Yagami…" she paused when Ranma began laughing his head off. "…what's so funny?"

"Oh please! I can do those things even before I got this curse! I really don't think I can count that as a benefit." The ponytailed boy answered. 

"Really..? Well at least you know some of its uses. You still want me to tell you the story?"

"Please…" he pleaded.

"Hmmm… I'll tell you if you come with me…" she said in a serious tone.

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Where exactly are you gonna take me?"

Mature nonchalantly shrugged. "Just a place where a lot of information is stored. I'm not yanking your chain Ranma; I just want you to see it for yourself."

The blue-eyed boy thought about it. _'Should I go? She doesn't seem to be lying but what do I know? I suck at reading people. Sigh… what have I got to lose..?' _"Fine… I'll go with you… for now."

"That's great! Um… perhaps you should wear something more… appropriate first." Mature said in an amused tone.

The ponytailed boy blinked, looked down and screamed… "Ack!" Ranma then dashed back behind the bed covers. "Umm… I'm sorry! I didn't! I mean..!" he mumbled.

"Haha! It's quite alright. Your bag is in the other room, you really should get dressed."

"H-Hai!" he quickly replied. 

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

**France **

Chris sighed, his dreams hadn't receded at all. In fact, it has gotten worse when he arrived at Sweden. That's why he left the place and began travelling the world once more. He was now in France, he really doesn't know why but his gut feeling tells him that this is the place… a place for what? He then bumped into someone that caused him to fall to the ground. 

"Oh! I'm sorry! Are you alright?" 

Chris looked up to see a red-haired woman standing in front of him. _'Ranma?! No… not him… especially not in THAT outfit!' "Yes, I'm fine." He replied. He glanced at the woman once again, she has her hair tied up in twin ponytails, her bangs completely covers her eyes and she is wearing a very revealing dress._

The woman sighed in relief. "That's good. Hi! My name is Shermie what's yours?"

"Um… Chris. Nice to meet you Shermie." The blue-eyed boy answered back.

"Hey Shermie! Let's go!" A girl shouted.

"C'mon! We're still going shopping right?" Another girl said.

"Alright!" She turned to Chris once more. "I'm sorry but I have to go! Adieu! (**4)" with that, she ran towards her friends.**

Chris stood there for a bit, blinked twice then shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well… like Ranma said… women!"

* * *

**……????**

"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?!" A certain bandana-clad boy shouted to the heavens. _'I must get back to Akari! Kuso… where am I anyway?' _

"Excuse me sir, but you should move away from this area." A police officer said.

"Huh?" Ryoga naively replied. He then looked around to see an entire street in ruins. "What happened here?" he asked the officer.

"I don't know the details but some people say that there has been a big fight a couple of hours ago, we haven't identified the persons responsible yet so we can't say much more."

"I see…" _'Heh, kind of reminds me of the fights by everyone in Nerima… No, no, no! Don't go there! That part of your life is over! Still…' "Anyway can you direct me to this place…"_

Once Ryoga got the directions, he leaves the area, turns at the corner and suddenly finds himself inside of a deep forest…

"%*#$! WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?!" _'This has got to be somebody's fault! I'm sure of it!' _

* * *

(1) – Playtime is over!

(2) – Hakketsu Shuu or Hakkeshu It was Hakketsu Shuu in the English manga. *shrugs* Anyway, I think it sounds okay either way.

(3) – He doesn't know the entire history yet, remember?

(4) – Goodbye.

**# # #**

**AN: **zzzzZZZZ… whoa… feels like I've been hit by one of Goenitz' "koko desu ka" hurricanes… stupid headache… I hope that the fight scene with the two Orochi warriors was okay. If not, I'm just gonna have to try a lot harder, ne? ^^ The fight ended in a draw… Kurai Seishin got it right. Anyway, it will give those two a chance to further improve their skills for future fights. 

There is no way I'm letting Ranma walk out of fights with the top KOF characters unharmed. If I did that, then I might as well take back what I said about this not being a 'Ranma is a god' fic. Why Mature? It will become clear in the following chapters. Who's next to appear? A certain blue-haired half-breed that meows when angry perhaps..? ^^

As for Ryoga? Wellllllll… I don't know yet! But expect some familiar Ranma ½ faces to appear soon.

Must… kick… Ash's… ass… (If you saw the 2003 God Caliber Team ending, you'll know why…) gotta… go… now… Ja ne!

Luc

Next Chapter **Painful Memories**


	6. Painful Memories

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer:** Let me see here… Ranma ½… don't own them, King of Fighters… nope; don't own them too… so there!

**AN: **Still waiting for more opinions in regards to my earlier suggestion about the votes. As it stands now… Chizuru – 16, Shermie – 16. It is still a tie between the two so please respond to the suggestion onegai! 

E-mail votes counted.

Flames of Destiny

By Luc

Chapter 5: **Painful Memories**

* * *

**Mature's**** Room**

As Ranma went into the other room like a bat out of hell, Mature was trying to control her laughter but was failing miserably. She has other things in mind though. _'Ranma Saotome, an inexperienced wielder of the cursed flame… but a powerful one nonetheless.' _

Ranma came out of the room a few minutes later. He was dressed in a light blue Chinese silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black pants and his usual pair of Chinese shoes. His hair was untied so his black hair almost reaches down his waist. The blue-eyed boy sat down on the bed as he tied his hair into a loose ponytail.

While Ranma was busy doing his hair, Mature just stared at the ponytailed boy's back. _'Hmm… a magatama wielder without being connected to the Yagami clan. Though that hurricane move of his reminded me of Goenitz… I wonder where he learned that technique? Well, at least that dirtbag of a Hakkeshu is dead. Ranma, what an interesting person you are… it doesn't hurt that he's quite handsome too.' _

Ranma on the other hand… _'Great, what have I gotten myself into now? Why in the world did I believe her so easily anyway? Still… if it answers all the questions in my head then I don't mind, I can always use the Umisenken to escape if it leads to that kind of scenario.'_

A knock on the door shook the two out of their stupor. "Hey! Mature! It's me! Open up!"  

"Who is it?" Ranma curiously asked, on the inside though…_ 'No… another girl… somebody up there really likes to play with my screwed up life.'_

"The friend I told you about." She answered in a cryptic manner. The blonde made her way up to the door and begins to open it. A woman around Mature's height entered the room. She has dark red hair and brown eyes, her outfit was just like Mature's, and the only difference is that she is wearing a red jacket rather than the blonde's white.

"Where have you been? You've been gone for hours!" reprimanded Mature.

The red-haired girl looked chastised; she placed a hand at the back of her head and answered sheepishly. "Sorry, I had to help an injured animal off the street."

Mature frowned in understanding while Ranma just looked even more confused than before.

The blonde sighed. "Fine… anyway, I'd like you to meet Ranma." She said, gesturing to the confused blue-eyed boy.

Vice walked up to Ranma and stared at him intently. The ponytailed boy sweated at the gaze, it was like a stare that a ca-ca-ca… one of those things would do. He swallowed audibly before speaking. "Uh… hi?"

Vice smiled in a mischievous way. "Hello… handsome…" Vice seductively whispered into Ranma's ear. She then blinked when the boy suddenly vanished in front of her. "Huh?"

Ranma was already 'one with the wall' as one would put it. 

Mature coughed. "That's enough Vice! Ranma, this is Vice… don't worry, she was just joking. She won't try anything right Vice?" 

Vice blinked for a bit. _'Is she angry with me for doing that? Usually she is the one that does it first!' _"Err… yeah… I'm just joking… eheheh…"

"Really?" he asked tentatively.

The blonde nodded. "Really."

"Okay…"

"Uh… Ranma..? You can let go of the wall now…" she finished with a large sweat drop.

The ponytailed boy blinked and looked behind him. His hands actually ripped part of the wall out of its place?! "Ack! Sorry! I didn't mean to!" 

Both girls chuckled nervously. _'What the hell is this guy made off?' _

"Anyway, let's get going, shall we?" Mature suggested.

Receiving nods from the two, they made their way out of the room.

* * *

**Iori's**** Room**

Iori groaned as he starts to come to his senses, he placed a hand on his face as he sat up from the bed, his eyes suddenly snapped open upon remembering what happened. He then noticed that he was all patched up, his wounds were already treated and his body was covered with bandages. _'Who could have..? This scent, one of them huh? Bah! As long as they don't mind getting ripped to shreds twice!'_

He got up and drank a glass of water from the kitchen. The red-haired man then smiled to himself. _'Looks like he wasn't just all talk afterall. Someone that actually withstood my attacks in a real fight (1)… heh, looks like I won't be bored in the months to come.' _

"Hm hm hm hm… Heh heh heh heh HAH HAH HAH!"

* * *

**Kagura**** Residence**

Chizuru walked towards the Kagura shrine, her movements can be called the very definition of elegance. She stopped however, when she caught sight of the footage of Yagami fighting someone. She watched and listened intently to the news report.

_'This was the scene a few hours ago when two persons engaged in a brutal fight right in the middle of __Uehommachisuji Avenue__ in __Osaka__. (Shows a brief recording of Ranma performing the Hiryu Shoten Ha on Iori while facing away from the camera) The police have identified the man with red hair as Iori Yagami, one of the fighters in the KOF tournaments. _

_As reported earlier, Iori went into a killing spree during the last tournament and killed dozens of spectators and fans. He was not arrested due to the agreement made by the KOF sponsors and the various country representatives and business associates. _

_The other one has not been identified as we could not see his face in the footage. However, the police have managed to give a brief description of the man from the footage. He has black hair tied in a loose ponytail, about 18-19 years old and roughly around 5'8 in height. Please inform the police if you know the whereabouts of either one of these persons. In other news… _

Having seen and heard enough, Chizuru decided to return to the Yata residence… the shrine can wait. _'Kami-sama… who was that?! Could he be… ?'  ****_

* * *

**??????**

"What, pray tell are we doing in a forest?" asked an irritated ponytailed boy.

Mature just chuckled. "You really weren't expecting us to go to some fancy library or something close to that for information regarding the Orochi, were you?"

Ranma had the decency to blush at Mature's answer; he twiddled with his thumbs as he replied. "Uh, yeah… I thought it was something along those lines."

It was Vice's turn to laugh out loud. "My! Mature was right! What a naïve little boy you are!" 

Vice and Mature were about to say more but one good look at Ranma's face shut them up. The ponytailed boy stood ramrod straight, the color of his eyes took a purple hue and his hair was rapidly changing colors from black to red. 

"The Riot of Blood?!" Vice shrieked in absolute terror.

Fortunately, Mature was a lot calmer that Vice so she was able to observe the ponytailed boy. "No Vice… look, it seems as if he is in some sort of trance." The blonde said, pointing her finger to Ranma's purple eyes.

The blonde-haired girl's explanation managed to calm the red head down. That incident during the King of Fighters brought her a lot of nightmares, old and new alike. "Then why is he like that? What's causing him to do that?"

Mature shook her head. "I have no idea. I guess we'll just have to wait for him to come to his senses." She said with a shrug. 

"Or we can just do this!" Vice said as she swung her hand towards Ranma's face. The intended slap didn't even come close as Vice's hand suddenly caught fire before it even touched the ponytailed boy's face. She screamed as she frantically shook her hand to rid it of the flames. She then sighed as the flames died down. "Phew… what the hell is wrong with him anyway?! And what the #%*& was that?!"

The blonde shook her head once more. "I told you I don't know! I have never seen it…" she stopped when she noticed that Ranma was already moving. 

"Uh…" the ponytailed boy muttered as he tried to regain his balance. "Wha..? What happened? Where am I?"

Vice raised an eyebrow while Mature looked concerned for a moment before hiding it behind that calm façade of hers. The red head was still ticked at the fire incident so she couldn't help asking him about it.

"You don't remember?" The red head asked tightly.

Ranma looked at Vice with a questioning gaze. "Remember what?"

Vice was about to respond but Mature cut her off. "It's nothing; let's just get a move on okay?"

The other two just nodded their heads in unison. 

* * *

**Kusanagi**** Residence**

The Kusanagi's and Yuki were eating dinner when they saw the news on TV. Kyo was of course wondering who Yagami's opponent was as he clenched his fist tightly but soon let it go as he felt Yuki's hands grab his arm. He looked down on the brown-haired girl's face and smiled reassuringly to her.

Saisyu and his wife Shizuka were just calmly drinking their tea; both have a lot to think about… especially Shizuka. 

_'Oh dear… by the description she gave me, it seems like he's the one I'm supposed to look out for.' _     

* * *

**Forest**** Path**

The three delved deeper into the woods, and then it happened… 

_*SPLASH!* _

"Figures…" Ranma-chan grumbled.

"Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha?!" the two ladies stammered at the same time. 

The ponytailed girl sighed. "It's me, Ranma."

That statement brought Mature out of her stupor. She rubbed her eyes a couple of times and blinked at the person before her. "What do you mean you're Ranma? Ranma's a man!" 

_'I knew she'd say that…' _"It's another curse of mine. I fell into a cursed spring in China and poof! I turn into a busty red head when splashed with cold water, hot water changes me back into a man. Before you ask, yes, I am a man." 

Blinking a few times, the blonde composed herself when she realized she was staring at the girl… err… boy for a long time. "I see… a gender changing curse. Oh well, I think you're cute in either form." She teasingly said.

Ranma-chan blushed at the comment. "Err… right. You seem to be taking this event rather well."

Mature shrugged. "I've seen a lot of curses during my travels. Just last week I saw a man with a terrible directional curse placed on him." She said as she laughed at the memory.

_'Directional curse?__ Ryoga… wonder if he's still blaming me?' "Okay, I think we better see if Vice is alright." _

Vice just stood there with her mouth wide open, her gaze was still fixed on where Ranma-chan was a moment ago. Ranma-chan waved a hand in front of the frozen girl but she got no response.

"I think we should just take her to the cavern." Mature said, sighing.

Ranma-chan and Mature dragged the gaping Vice towards their destination, a hidden cavern deep in the woods. Mature explained that this was a hideout or something like that made by one of the Hakkeshu's, Goenitz. The inside of the cave was pretty organized, a lot of books were stored in a shelf, and there are a couple of beds to rest and a few lamps for increased visibility. Ranma then poured hot water on himself from his thermos, negating his curse. Vice soon snapped out of it and joined Ranma and Mature as they walked deeper into the cave.

"Huh? What are these etched on the walls?" the ponytailed boy asked.  

Mature took a glance at the markings before explaining. "Oh, those writings? I'm not really sure but from what I heard, those scriptures were written hundreds of years ago by some of the Hakkeshu's back then… I guess."

"Goenitz spent a lot of time translating these scriptures, I saw him wrote the translations in some sort of journal. I think it's still around here somewhere… all we have to do is find it." Vice added in.

The three arrived at Goenitz' old quarters, they then began their search for the journal. Ranma noticed some sort of door at the far end of the room, it was fairly hidden but a weird marking can be seen from its center.

"Hey, where does this door lead to?" 

The two girls looked up to where Ranma was pointing to, they then walked towards the door. Mature and Vice checked the door, as if looking for hidden switches and levers. 

"We don't know much about this one. Even Goenitz said that he couldn't solve the mystery behind it no matter how hard he tried in the past."

"I see…" the ponytailed boy said as he attempted to touch the wall-like door. "…WHA?!" Ranma screeched in surprise as a pillar of light engulfed the three Orochi warriors when his hand made contact with the mysterious door. 

As the light died down, Mature and Vice slowly opened their eyes to see Ranma lying on the floor unconscious.

"RANMA!!!" Mature exclaimed in a worried tone. 

Vice noticed her partner's change in attitude but ignored it for now. "Let's get him back into the bedroom." The red head said as she took Ranma's arm and wrapped it around her neck for support. Mature did the same on the other side.  

* * *

**Next day…**

**Tendo**** Residence**

Kasumi Tendo got out of her bed much earlier than the rest of her family just as she always did for the past couple of years. Only this time, she did not do it with the same kind of enthusiasm as she did a couple of months ago. _'Sigh… this house will __nev__er be the same without him…' she thought sadly._

She sat in front of her mother's shrine and prayed silently. _'Mother… it's happening again. I hated it first when I had to be the mother figure for Akane and Nabiki because I know that I'll __nev__er be able to replace you but I had no choice. I sacrificed everything just to get father and my sisters back up to their feet. It took years but I managed to do it because I know you are always watching over me mother…'_

She then looked down on the floor; a few tears fell from her eyes. _'But now… it seems to have gotten worse… Ranma's dead. He was such an innocent boy, so carefree and full of life just like I was… he didn't deserve to die…  _

_Father has become a mere shell of himself once more… Nabiki rarely talks to anyone, sometimes she even ignores her own family. I… I don't know what to do anymore mother… I'm scared that I might lose them as I have lost you._

Kasumi wiped the tears from her eyes. _'The strange thing is Akane's behavior as of late. She's been smiling more and more these past couple of days. I wonder what happened to her to cause a reaction like that? When I asked her why she's acting like that she just said that Ranma-kun wouldn't like it if she cried all the time. Akane… at least she's starting to move on.' _

She stood up and slowly walked away from the shrine. As she was near the door, she glanced one more time to her mother's shrine. _'Mother… I don't know what to do… I can't hold on forever….'_

She then went into the kitchen to prepare the breakfast for her family. As the food was almost done, a couple of footsteps can be heard heading towards the living room. 

"Good morning Akane-chan." Kasumi sweetly said.

Akane smiled in turn. "Good morning Kasumi-oneechan."

"Akane-chan, can you get Father and Mr. Saotome please? Breakfast will be ready soon."

Akane just shook her head. "I saw them a couple of minutes ago. They said that they'll go out for a while and probably wouldn't come back until tomorrow morning." She finished with a sigh.

"Oh my…"

A few minutes later, Kasumi came out of the kitchen and began serving the food to her sisters. The Tendo sisters ate their food in silence. The only sound heard was the sound of the television program going on. Nabiki finished her meal a lot faster than her sisters so she decided to channel surf for a while.

_'This is the news from __Osaka__… one of the participants in the King of Fighters Tournament, Iori Yagami, was caught on tape as he was fighting someone right in the middle of a crowded street. Here is a brief footage of the fight…'_

Kasumi and Nabiki's eyes widened when the man raised an uppercut and a tornado shot out of it. Akane on the other hand, wanted to bang her head on the table. _'Ranma… can't you stay out of trouble even for a little while?' _she thought with a twitch.

"Oh my! Isn't that..?" she was suddenly cut off by Akane.

"Don't be silly oneechan! Ranma is… dead. It's probably just some cheap trick to attract audiences… look! That tall red-haired man uses fire from his hands! How can that be real?" _'Please buy it! Please buy it!'_

"Oh my… I guess you're right Akane-chan. Ranma-kun is gone…"

"Cheer up oneechan… I'm sure that Ranma agrees with me when I say that we don't want to see you in such a sad state. We can't live in the past forever… we have to move on with our lives but whatever we do, we must not forget those that brought joy and sadness in our life…" 

Kasumi couldn't take it anymore and cried then and there. The surrogate mother of Akane and Nabiki and the foundation of the Tendo household broke down and cried as she grabbed onto Akane for support. It was finally her time to be comforted.

_'That's right… we have to move on oneechan… I love him but I guess it was not meant to be… take care Ranma.'_

Nabiki remained impassive during the entire conversation. _'What has gotten into you Akane? You used to get so depressed when someone mentions him but now…  Well, whatever it is, it has something to do with that news on TV… could that man really be..! If it is him… then why hasn't he come back..?' Nabiki didn't like being in the dark so a big onelike this really gets on her nerves. _'I'd better make this one my first priority.' _With that thought, she got up from the table and went straight to her room to contact a few… associates._

* * *

**Inside the cavern**

It's been almost a day since the incident but Ranma still hasn't regained consciousness yet. The two members of the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu patiently waited for the gender changing boy to wake up. They sat at the opposite sides of the room and both seemed to be in deep thought…

_'What was that light? It didn't do that when Mature and I checked the walls so why did it react to him? I can't get answers by just standing around, might as well start looking for the journal' _with that in mind, she silently went out of the bedroom and back to Goenitz' quarters.

_'That light… I heard someone's voice when I was blinded by that light. What does it have to do with Ranma? He has Orochi blood but so do I. I can't think straight! Wake up soon, Ranma…'_

"Uhhh… where..?" the blue-eyed boy mumbled out.

"Ranma! Are you all right?"

Ranma slowly opened his eyes and saw Mature staring down at him with a worried look on her face. "Uh, yeah… I think so. What happened anyway?" he asked while trying to shake the cobwebs off his head.

"You don't remember? We were searching for the journal inside Goenitz' room and you found that weird door to the far side. When we checked it we found nothing but when you touched it a brilliant flash of light appeared out of nowhere, blinding me and Vice temporarily. We found you knocked out on the floor a few moments later… don't you remember anything at all when that pillar of light appeared?" 

The ponytailed boy shook his head. "No… I don't remember anything at all after I touched the door."

"Maybe this will help!" Vice interrupted, throwing a large type of notebook towards Mature. "I searched for it while Ranma was still out cold."  

The blue-eyed boy stared at the notebook. "Is that..?"

"Seems like it. Let's see what information we can dig up inside this thing…" The blonde said as she opened the journal and started to read it aloud.

_Summer of the year 1974_

_The first plan shall was put into action. Guidel and I were placed in charge of removing the seal of Orochi while the old geezers sat back and watch from the shadows. _

_First seal destroyed, Guidel and I killed the children guarding it. _

_Second seal destroyed, killing people is so much fun!_

_Winter of the year 1978_

_Guidel__ and his tribe decided to hide for awhile, the Kusanagi's were relentless in their attempts to kill the Hakkeshu members. It's a good thing that those canon fodder that is the Yagami clan interfered in their work. Such pathetic humans!_

_Ha! Finally eliminated those pieces of trash! They did not deserve to live for those things that they did!_

_Spring of the year 1983_

_I have discovered a few underground caverns that seemed to have been made by the original Orochi Hakkestsu Shuu. The scriptures are hard to translate but if it will lead to the revival of Orochi then I will do everything I can. _

_Fall of the year 1986_

_The seal that the Yata clan holds on Orochi has been dealt with. A pity that the other one managed to escape but I have achieved what I came to do. Orochi's power is still too weak, I need to __gath__er energy for my Lord._

_Winter of the year 1986_

_Damn him! Damn them all!!! Traitors! Guidel you traitor! Hahaha! From the looks of that girl, she will undergo the Riot of Blood in a day or two. It's going to be such fun watching them be slaughtered by a mere girl!_

_Hahaha__!!! I enjoyed watching his entire tribe burn to the ground! Hahahahaha!!!_

_Fall of the year 1988_

_The clan seals have all been unlocked. It's all up to Orochi himself to do the rest._

_Spring of the year 1990_

_I have located two Orochi Hakketsu Shuu's… Vice and Mature. Heh, two sluts who know nothing of Orochi but are of his blood. They would be of some use to me… for now. _

Vice almost ripped the journal to shreds but Ranma held her back.

_Winter of the year 1994_

_Interesting man, that Rugal.__ Let's see how he uses the fused Orochi blood in him! _

_Winter of the year 1995_

_Ahahaha__!!! He killed himself! The fool! I told him not to use its full power! _Po___wer hungry moron!_

Mature snickered as she read it aloud.

_Spring of the year 1996_

_The final plan is set. I really didn't think that the Kusangi boy was THAT weak… though I did enjoy toying with him. Those two are up to something but no matter, I will not fail!_

"That's it." Mature finished.

"I don't understand any of it at all!" Ranma yelled in frustration.

Vice threw a couple of things towards the infuriated boy. "Perhaps these can help. I found them hidden in an old antique box inside loony's room." 

The ponytailed boy browsed through the items. "A map? Some information on the Hakkeshu's… and a ring? What am I supposed to do with these things?!"

Vice sighed. "The map has the location of the person Goenitz talked about, Orochi Hakketsu Shuu of Water Guidel. It's in ruins now but a few scrolls might have survived." 

"I guess I'll go check it out alone…okay?"

Vice just looked impassive while Mature nodded in defeat. "Alright… but promise to contact us when you found something okay?"

"Eh? Why should I? I mean…" _'No… not that! Anything but that!_

"Please…!" The blonde pleaded as she used 'the look' on Ranma. 

Ranma grumbled in annoyance, he wrote down the number and placed it inside his bag along with the journal. As the blue-eyed boy exited the cavern, the Hakkeshu duo suddenly became serious. 

"You like him don't you?" Vice asked.

The blonde just smiled. "Just as you like a certain tall red head… and I feel as if that we'll meet him sooner than we think…?" she paused as she saw Ranma enter the cave once more.

Vice giggled. "Yeah… sooner than we think…" she said in between giggles.

"Uh… forgot my side pack."

* * *

**A week has passed… **

**France******

Shermie was running towards the shopping mall at great speed. _'I'm late! Darn, they didn't tell me that wearing a specific dress was de rigeur (2) at the dance!' _

She stopped in her tracks upon hearing a beautiful melody from somewhere. She glanced around and saw a music shop around the corner. _'Is this where the music is coming from?' she internally asked herself. She peeked inside and saw a fairly muscled man that has beach-blonde hair and is wearing a pair of gloves, a red jacket and white pants. _

He was playing the guitar like an expert. Not missing a beat, producing a melodic sound that attracts audiences little by little. Shermie was so entranced in listening to the tune that she was surprised to find herself behind a keyboard. _'Why not?' _she thought as she timed her music with the beach-blonde's rhythm. 

The blonde briefly looked at the twin ponytailed woman before concentrating on the guitar once more. The two played in perfect synchronization that soon attracted people one after the other. Not long after they started playing, a huge crowd was gathered at the front entrance of the store. As the music comes to an end, the two received a huge amount of applause from the audience. 

"You played great music." Shermie began. 

The blonde simply smiled at her. "You're not so bad yourself. By the way, I'm Yashiro Nanakase." The man introduced himself as he extends his right hand.

Shermie shook Yashiro's hand and allowed herself to smile. "I'm Shermie, nice to meet you."

"Say, I'm traveling around the world looking for band members, you interested in joining?" he asked bluntly. 

Shermie thought about it as she placed a finger on her chin. "I'm not sure… why don't we talk about it at the dance hall over there?" 

"Fine by me." Yashiro said, shrugging his shoulders.

* * *

**Village Ruins**

The stench of death fills the air as Ranma approached the village ruins. The road was murky and visibility is close to zero due to the thick fog that envelops the entire area.  Ranma trudged along despite the obstacles; the wind suddenly picks up and forces Ranma to cover his eyes. He then slips and falls in a deep gorge, he screams as he plunges to the bottom.

The blue-eyed boy woke up with a wince. _'I really should take the Bakusai Tenketsu training soon…' _he thought as he stood up and slowly massaged his ribs. He looks up… his eyes widened at what he saw. _'A graveyard…' C_ountless graves are in the area, a simple wooden cross marked each and every one of them. _'Is this the village..? Just like…' he left the thought unfinished. _

He walked past the graves and onto the dilapidated houses, houses that were once filled with life, joy and happiness. He searched for the house that matches the description given in the journal. The ponytailed boy finally spotted it, it was fairly large but it seems as if that it might collapse at any minute. 

"This is the place huh? The place where the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu of Water Guidel settled down." The blue-eyed boy muttered to himself. _'Might as well see if a couple of scrolls on the Hakkeshu are still intact.' _

He walked towards the house, only to stop when he saw a figure exiting it. It was a woman with blue hair that reaches her waist. She was wearing some type of uniform and a weird set of earrings. _'Does she know the soul of ice?' _he thought as he looked at her cold and emotionless face.  

She finally noticed the ponytailed boy and gave him a questioning look. "Who are you?" she asked in a sub-zero tone.

* * *

**A Few Minutes Before…**

Leona walked towards the village ruins with a dejected look. She really couldn't concentrate on anything after the 1996 King of Fighters tournament and almost got herself and her partners killed during their last mission. _'My destiny..? What did that man meant when he said that?' _

Her superiors were disappointed to say the least regarding her actions as of late. Ralph and Clark quickly suggested to let her take a few weeks off and her stepfather wholeheartedly agreed to their idea. _'Even then, I couldn't get a __brea__k. I can still see that scared little boy trying to run away from me while screaming 'monster' over and over again…' _

Heidern must have sensed the pressure she was going through so he gave her this location, the place where he found her all those years ago. She was hoping that she could find some answers to the questions lingering on her mind and maybe… be able to finally remember her clouded past. 

She stopped right in front of a large house. _'This is..!'_

//FLASH//

A male figure walks up to a small blue-haired girl. "Who is daddy's little girl?" he asked as he patted the child on the head.

"Me! I love you daddy!" the young girl squealed out. She then hugged her father with all her might.

//FLASH//

Leona staggered a little as she placed her hands on her head. _'Was that my real father..?' She looked up and stared at the house. _'Is this… my home..?' __

//FLASH//

"Leona! Calm down!" "Please…"  "STOP!" "NO!!!" "LEONA!!!!" "ROWRRRR!!!!"

//FLASH//

Her eyes widened as the memory hit her. _'No… I killed them… no… no…' _"NOOOO!!!" she screamed to the heavens. Tears fell freely from her eyes as her childhood memories came back to haunt her. _'Oh God… what am I? Mother… Father… everyone… dead. All because of me…' She thought as she noticed the graveyard to her right. _'That… that man! I remember!'__

****Flashback****

"Guidel…" a low but commanding voice echoed around the area.

The man stood up and addressed the voice. "Goenitz… to what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

"I'm just here to inform the Hakkeshu of Water that the Kagura seal on Orochi has been… taken cared of." 

Guidel raised an eyebrow with that statement. "Taken cared of in what way..?" _'He didn't!' His eyes widened at the thought. "Goenitz! Even though they are enemies of the Orochi clans, the keepers of the seal are still children! Tell me you didn't do what I think you did!" he exclaimed._

Goenitz let off a mirthful chuckle "So I killed a child in cold blood, what's the big idea? It's not like you're any different during those times when you served for the Orochi clans' goal."

"That was then, this is now! Can't you see that people change Goenitz?! If you would just open your eyes to your surroundings you will find out that humans are not that different from us with Orochi blood! Stop this meaningless attempt to bring about the destruction of the human race!" 

Goenitz scowled at Guidel's speech. "I see… it seems that you speak quite highly of humans even when knowing the consequences in doing so. If I didn't know better, you must be…" he stopped as he caught sight of a blue-haired girl running towards Guidel.

"Daddy… I don't feel so good." the girl informed her father.

Before Guidel could answer back, Goenitz' scowl deepened. "A child… one with tainted blood?! GUIDEL!!! I see now… almost everyone here in this pathetic village is of Orochi blood but traitors to the cause… heheheh… your tribe has turned its back on Orochi, no doubt because of your influence…" he then begins to laugh manically. 

"I personally want to destroy you and your tribe right now but… I see that your fate has already been decided. Hahahahaha!!!"  

Guidel watched as Goenitz vanished in a gust of wind, he then looked at the downed form of his daughter with sad eyes. _'Leona…'_

****End Flashback****

_'Goenitz… I remember him. I was sick at the time but I still heard what they were saying.' _The blue-haired girl made her way into the house, not minding its decrepit state at all._ She made her way into a room, a room with a lot of broken dolls and blood scattered on the floor. __'My room… daddy.' Another memory hit her. _

//FLASH//

"Rowrrr…" 

Guidel sat at the corner of Leona's room; he was already mortally wounded from one of his daughter's slashes when he attempted to subdue her a few minutes ago. He looks at his daughter and smiles gently at the berserker. "Leona… if you can hear me… it's not your fault… it's not your fault… daddy will always love you…"

"ROWRRRRRRR!!!!!!" 

Blood scattered all over the room…

//FLASH//

Leona curled up on the floor, her entire body was trembling from those horrible things she did. Her bangs covered her eyes but tears can be seen falling down her face. _'Daddy…'  _

A few minutes later,she wiped the tears from her eyes, she stands up and thenher face suddenly turned cold and emotionless. _'I've got to report back to headquarters.' _Nodding to herself, she looked once more at the room with sad eyes before going outside the house.

The half-breed Orochi warrior walked out of the house with her head hung low. _'What am I..? I'm nothing more than… huh?' _she was shaken out of her thoughts when she noticed a young man standing in front of her. _'Strange… commander Heidern said that no one lives near these ruins so… could he have followed me here..?'_

Her eyes narrowed at the thought so she went into a semi-guarded stance as she asked the ponytailed boy. "Who are you?"

* * *

Ranma flinched at her chilling voice. _'Geez, now I know why everyone was so scared to death when I use that tone on them.'_

"Err… Ranma Saotome. Who may I ask are you?" he answered slowly and carefully, Kami-sama knows that his dreaded foot in mouth caused him a couple… no, scratch that, A LOT of trouble with women before and he has a feeling that this one won't hesitate to rip his head off if he makes one wrong move.

"Leona Heidern. How did you know about this place?" she did not take her eyes off of him for one bit. 

Ranma was becoming very uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze. Hearing the question, he pulled out the journal from inside his pack. "Oh, it was written here in Goenitz' journal so I thought I might find something useful… AH!" Ranma yelled in surprise as the journal was suddenly ripped in two.

After hearing Goenitz' name, Leona acted on instinct rather than thinking things over. She immediately performed an upward slash that produced a short-range vacuum blade that ripped the journal in two. Her mind was in a whirl of emotions… _'Goenitz, the man that… that… I heard his laughter… when I killed them… he… he… AHHHH!!!!' _She then dashed forward to the confused ponytailed boy. 

"Wha? What did I do?!" he wondered aloud. _'Why is it always my fault?!' He tried to jump over the charging blue-haired girl but Leona did a summersault flip complete with her own mini vacuum blade that managed to rip Ranma's shirt open. _

"AHHHH!!!!!" Leona screamed as an intense surge of pain coursed through her body. Her hair took a reddish hue, her eyes became lifeless and its color changed to a glowing gold. Her teeth suddenly sharpened and her skin turned pale. 

Ranma's eyes widened at the scene in front of him. "Crap! The Riot of Blood! It looks like this fight is beyond reasoning anymore…"_ he sadly muttered to himself. He then went into a standard kempo stance… only to lose his concentration when he heard the girl yell. _

"ROWRRRRRR!!!!!"

_'Damn! Why does she have to sound like a friggin cat?!' _Ranma leapt up once more but Leona was already above him, her hands lunging for his heart. The ponytailed boy blocked it by crossing his arms in front of his chest. Leona howled once more as she delivered a hard kick to Ranma's midsection, the blue-eyed boy was catapulted towards the graveyard due to the impact of the kick.

Leona angled her body in mid-air to land safely on the ground. She snarled first before dashing towards the slightly dazed ponytailed boy. Ranma was still recovering from the kick when he was catapulted backwards yet again by a hard shoulder tackle. He was flung towards the graves, wrecking a few wooden crosses along the way and stopping a few feet from where he once stood.    

Leona howled once more, she looks up to the dark sky and spewed blood from her mouth like a geyser. 

Ranma spat out some blood as he stood up. _'I hope this works… soul of ice…' _His blue eyes hardened as he applied the technique once more. 

"ROWRRR!!!" the Orochi berserker shouted as she attempted another charge at Ranma. 

The blue-eyed boy sidestepped the attack and delivered a backfist to the back of the berserker's neck that sent her crashing towards a wooden cross. Ranma's eyes widened slightly as Leona made a couple of maneuvers that allowed her to avoid the collision. He was then caught off guard as Leona increased her speed from before; he received a lot of cuts and bruises because of it. That attack also caused him to lose focus from his soul of ice because of… well… cats.

Leona was too busy with her relentless assault to notice that Ranma already cupped his hands in front of him. "Mouko Takabisha!" he shouted as the golden wave of ki blasted the blue-haired girl into the ground. He tensed when Leona got up from the attack as soon as it hit her. _'Guess there is no other choice…' _The Orochi-berserker jumped forward to the ponytailed boy.

_'I'm sorry…' _"Geimon Tetsu Sen Shi!!! (3)" Ranma shouted as he drove his right hand, palm flat and ki enhanced fingertips extended forward, to Leona's exposed stomach. Blood gushed out of the wound a few seconds later. Leona howled one last time before losing consciousness; she then reverted back to normal afterwards.

Ranma quickly tended to the wound by applying some pressure points around it to stop the bleeding. After taking a long time tending to the girl's wounds, he then decided to set up camp a few miles away from the ruins.

Ranma placed the unconscious girl inside his tent to let her rest for the night. He then sat near the fire he made earlier and contemplated on certain things he discovered so far. _'__Oka_y, according to the journal… there are rumored to be eight Hakksehu's roaming around. Vice and Mature are two, Goenitz and Guidel makes four… so four are left. Can this girl be a Hakkeshu too? Better ask her when she wakes up. Rituals, scriptures, yada yada. Kuso… I've visited the Temmangu, Hokoku, Kozugu and Ikumata shrines (4) but I still don't know how the hell I got this damned ___fla__me. To top it off, my only real source of info has been destroyed… sigh…' _

He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and glanced over it. "Hmm… Kusanagi shrine and Kagura sacred shrine huh? Kusanagi shrine is only a few miles from Osaka and Kobe and the Kagura shrine is located among the mountains near Nagoya… guess I'll take the Kagura shrine first since the Kusanagi shrine is practically in Osaka already." 

Finally having decided on his destination for tomorrow, the ponytailed boy sat under a tree and waited for sleep to claim him.  

* * *

(1) – The KOF fights have a time limit back then and he teamed up with Chizuru and Kyo in order to beat Goenitz. 

(2) – Required or necessary. 

(3) – Welcome Gate Iron Fan Fingers 

(4) – These shrines are real, they are located in Osaka. Whatever you do, don't visit the Hokoku shrine in case you decide to take a vacation to Japan. The shrine keeper can be a real pain in the butt! =P

**# # #**

**AN: **I had this chapter finished a couple of days ago but I was so caught up in watching the Tenchi Muyo OVA's and the Yu Yu Hakusho series (for my other fic)… I, uh… sort of forgot where I saved it. Gomen! (Suddenly gets pounded by the readers) Hey, at least I had the time to add a few more scenes and I managed to format all the chapters a couple of days ago… that counts for something right? Right..? =\

Didn't put much effort in doing the graveyard fight… I really didn't want Leona to be badly hurt in this chapter (she's been through enough misery, don't you think?). Goenitz' journal shall be cleared up in the next two chapters.

About Shermie, I figured it was okay to add in a few French words in her speech since she is French… I hope you don't mind. We will finally see one of the top vote getters 'meet' Ranma (Trust me, it won't be pretty ^^) and of course, the truth behind the curse. 

Well, it's nearing the end of the first arc. I probably would raise the rating to R when the tournament arc starts because of the steady stream of violence that will happen there. One other thing… do you like Panda-bashings? =) 

Ja ne! Luc

Next Chapter **Secrets Revealed I**


	7. Secrets Revealed I

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! *WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!* Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

**AN: **(Got bombarded by e-mail messages)Oooookay, it is still a tie… might as well freeze the voting for now and see how their relationship to Ranma turns out. I'm making two different outlines, one for Shermie and one for Chizzy. It will diverge after the final voting.

Flames of Destiny

by Luc

Chapter 6: **Secrets Revealed I**

* * *

**Village Outskirts**

"Uhhhnnn…" Leona moaned as she started to wake up. She immediately clutched her head as she tried to stand up but her stomach wound forced her back down. Composing herself, she slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring at the deepest blue eyes she has ever seen. 

"Good, you're awake! I was beginning to wonder if your injury was a lot more serious than I thought." Ranma said, relieved that he didn't do anything serious to the blue-haired girl. 

Said blue-haired girl broke her gaze with Ranma and tried to recall what had happened. "You're…?"

The ponytailed boy smiled weakly. "Ranma. We met at the village yesterday, don't you remember?" he softly asked, a part of him wished she didn't because he of all people should know what it's like in that state.

Leona shook her head. "No… I don't remember much of what happened. All I recall was you saying the name Goenitz and… I guess I kind of lost it." 

Ranma quickly answered back. "First of all, I don't know this Goenitz and I want nothing to do with him if the journal I read is true. I just followed some information that led me to this location and then I met you inside the village." He sighed in relief as he saw Leona relax a bit more. 

He then chuckled a little before continuing. "Yeah, you nearly sliced me in half with that vacuum blade of yours. Anyway, you were somewhat in a frenzied state so I'm not surprised you have little or no recollection at all. I managed to calm you down but I ended up cutting you real bad on your stomach." _'Better not tell her all of it. From the look on her face, it seems that she has suffered enough as it is.'_

The daughter of Guidel placed a hand on her stomach wound. _'This wound was made with precision; I think he angled his attack so as not to hit any vital parts. He could have easily killed me if he wanted to but he decided to let me live…' _"I, um… thank you." She hastily said, not really knowing what to do in these kinds of situations.

Ranma smiled at her. "Don't mention it, it's no big deal. Um, can I ask you a question?"

Leona paused for awhile before answering. "I guess its okay."

"I don't mean to pry but what were you doing inside the village anyway?" Ranma asked, curious as to why she was there in the first place.  

Letting off a quiet sigh, she looks down to the ground. "I… I…" she mumbled out loud.

"Nevermind. It's okay if you don't want to talk about it." Ranma said in an understanding tone. 

Leona shook her head once more. "I'm sorry but… I just can't, I hope you understand." 

Ranma smiled sadly. "Yeah…" _'More than you think.' _ 

The two sat there in silence, neither one finding the right words to say to the other. The silence was broken when they heard a static sound coming from Leona's uniform. 

_… Leona? Pl…ease… respond… wh… is… status? If… you… hear… sending… Ralf and Clark… wait… village…_

"Well, it looks like they're coming to pick you up very soon." The ponytailed boy said, trying to reassure the blue-haired girl, said blue-haired girl simply nodded in response.  

The two Orochi warriors sat there in silence once more. Ranma can clearly see that Leona was trying so hard to control her emotions, probably trying to shut off some unwanted memories from her past. 

A couple of minutes passed by, Ranma has already packed his things and was prepared to leave anytime but his sense of duty to protect kicked in so he waited for Leona's comrades to arrive. Soon enough, they heard a helicopter not to far from where they are currently resting. 

"It looks like it'll land on the village ruins." The blue-eyed boy said, watching the helicopter. He then saw Leona trying to get up; he went over to her and assisted the half-breed.

"Thank you but I can walk by myself now." She said, trying to sound nice but failing miserably because of the way she said it.

Ranma merely nodded, as if he understood the meaning behind the tone. 

The blue-eyed boy grabbed his things and faced Leona once more. "Well, I guess this is goodbye… see you around." He turned around and started to walk away. "Leona… you shouldn't keep everything to yourself, it will only cause you more pain in the future." He left a puzzled Leona to ponder over what he said.

* * *

**A week later**

**France******

Chris walked the streets of Paris with a tired look. _'Why am I here…? Oh, right… dreams. If it weren't for these I'd still be in __Japan__ with Ranma. What am I supposed to do now? Sigh… Oh well, might as well take a __brea__ther.'_

He bought a bottle of juice at a vending machine. Chris then sat on a bench and tried to relax for a bit. "It would've been a lot easier if I know what to look for." He mumbled to himself. 

"But why am I the one to have these kinds of dreams? I'm just an ordinary kid; at least I think I am. I don't like talking to people much, but I do like criticizing people… myself included. I just wish I know what to look- mrph!" Chris couldn't finish as a flyer stuck itself on his face.

"What the?! Band audition? Looking for band members willing to travel around the world. Must at least have some experience with musical instruments. Please go to the music shop at Av Montaigne for more details." This made Chris wonder. _'Interesting turn of events, I think I'll check it the place out right now. A band that travels around the world huh? Let's see what it has to offer.' _

* * *

**Av Montaigne**

Chris entered the music shop at Av Montaigne. _'Wow, a lot of people are __gath__ered here… are they auditioning too?' _He was shaken out of his thoughts when he bumped into a familiar face.

"Um, you're that kid I ran into a couple of days back… Chris right?" Seeing the boy nod, she smiles sweetly at him. "Bonjour! Comment allez-vous? (1)" 

Chris smiled back albeit hesitantly. "Err… right. Je vais bien (2) Shermie." He meekly replied.

The ponytailed girl's smile widened even more. "Oh! You remembered my name! How sweet of you!" she said as she reached out her hand to try and pat Chris' head, only to be shoved rather violently. "Ow! What was that for?!'

"Don't treat me like a kid! I-I hate it when people do that." The blue-eyed boy quickly replied.

Shermie's face softened. "I'm sorry Chris, I didn't know. I promise I won't do it again, ok?" 

Chris nodded and smiled briefly at the twin ponytailed woman. "By the way, are you here to audition for the band as well?" he asked. Shermie laughed in response. "What's so funny?"

"No Chris, I'm the one that thought of this idea in the first place. Are you here to try out?"

Chris nodded once more. "Yes, I want to see if I have what it takes."

The red-head smiled. "Well then, follow me… I'll introduce you to Yashiro."

* * *

**Hokkaido****Mountain**** Outskirts**

**Kagura**** Shrine**

"Brrr… why do I get the feeling that something big is going to happen soon?" Ranma muttered to himself. He really didn't like this, every time he gets this kind of feeling a major event happens in his life. Be it a fiancée, a curse, a rival, an enemy claiming to be a god/demon or whatever. _'It's probably gonna be another one to add to my messed up life.'_

He made his way up the beautiful pathway and onto a large open gate. Ranma stared in awe at his surroundings, thinking that whoever owns this place must be really, really, really rich. 

_'This place is huge! I wonder where the shrine is? For that matter, the shrine maiden. Might as well see if anyone is around.'_

"Hello…? Anyone here?" Ranma shouted.

"Just a minute please!" 

Ranma turned towards the source of the voice and saw a dark-haired girl, around 14-15 years of age, has brown eyes and about the same height as Ranma's female form. The girl finished whatever she was doing and looked at the blue-eyed boy; she studied him for a bit before giving him a cute smile.

"I'm sorry; I was tending to Chizuru-sama's plants. Welcome to the Kagura home, I am one of the caretakers of the Kagura estate… Reiko Iwasaki. May I know the purpose of your visit sir?"

The ponytailed boy could only stare at her in awe. _'I thought she would act like a teenager but it seems that she's way more mature than most people her age!' _

Reiko was getting uncomfortable under Ranma's gaze; she coughed a few times to get his attention. "Sir, can you please tell me the purpose of your visit?"

"Huh? Oh! I'm Ranma… um; can I see the shrine maiden? I'd like to ask a few questions regarding the Orochi myth."

The dark-haired girl thought for a minute. "Hmm… Chizuru-sama is meditating at the moment, but I think that she'll be done with it anytime now. Please follow me; we'll wait for her at the Kagura house." 

"Thank you very much." He said, trying to be formal.

Reiko led Ranma up the steps and onto another large gate. A large house can be seen from a distance, Ranma could already tell that the house was built pretty well. 

"Woah… this place is huge!" 

Reiko smiled. "Yes, the Kagura house has always been a historic landmark along with the Kagura shrine. I take it you haven't heard of the Orochi legend?" she saw Ranma shook his head. 

"I'll tell you a brief summary, it all started 1800 years ago. Orochi was a monster running rampant all over the countryside destroying villages and slaying humans along the way. It continued for quite awhile until a time came when three persons appeared and challenged the serpent. They were the known as representatives of the Kusanagi, Yasakani and the Yata clans. Despite the powers of Orochi, the three managed to defeat it in the end, Yasakani negating the beast's powers, Kusanagi dealing the final blow with his magatama and Yata imposing the seal on the monster so it can never return to its rampaging ways."

"What about the Yagami clan? Weren't they apart of it too?" Ranma asked, a bit confused by the story.

Reiko looked up to him and said. "Ah, the Yagami clan. It's very simple to explain because the Yasakani clan and the Yagami clan are one and the same. 660 years ago, the balance that existed between the three clans took a sharp turn. Throughout the past, the Kusanagi's were considered to be the stronger clan by the people while the Yasakani and Yata clan lived in their shadow. 

The Yata clan, now called the Kagura clan, was impartial to all of this but the Yasakani, overcome with greed and jealousy, craved for more power until they finally decided to form an unholy pact with Orochi. Since then, the Yasakani clan were labeled as traitors, they soon changed their name to Yagami and has been in a blood feud with the Kusanagi clan ever since… resulting in the deaths of countless clan members on both sides."

As Ranma listened to Reiko's retelling of the myth, he couldn't help but feel angry for some reason. _'Why do I feel as if I'm about to explode? The story doesn't seem right for some reason…' _"Uh, did you say something?"

Reiko half-pouted. "Mr. Ranma, I asked if there is any other reason for you to visit the shrine." 

"I guess it's mainly because of this…" he said, making his flame appear from his palm. He snuffed it out moments later and he started moving towards Reiko. He was about to say more when he felt someone kick him hard on the ribs.

"Ugatsu!!! (3)"

* * *

Chizuru has just finished her daily task as the shrine maiden and was now walking towards the Kagura home to rest up for the day. She was about to open the door to her home when she noticed someone talking to one of her servants, Chizuru would have ignored the interaction between the two had it not been for the Orochi aura that was lingering in the air. 

_'What…? That man has Orochi blood in him!' _Her suspicions were confirmed (In her POV anyway) when Ranma moved in closer to one of her servants, Reiko. 

Thinking that he was there to attack the shrine (4) and possibly to obtain the mirror, Chizuru quickly summoned a very realistic illusion of herself and proceeded to advance towards the ponytailed boy.

"Ugatsu!!!"

* * *

Ranma was taken back by the surprise attack but quickly recovered to face his attacker. He almost had the urge to bang his head on the entrance gate when he saw yet another girl glaring at him for reasons unknown. 

"This place is forbidden to the likes of you! You will not get the mirror from me!" Chizuru bellowed.

The ponytailed boy blinked at the heated exclamation. "Huh? What are you talking about? What mirro- yikes!" He rolled to the side as Chizuru suddenly appeared right in front of him. 

Reiko was watching the exchange from the sidelines. "Please stop Chizuru-sama! Calm down please…! I don't think that he knows what you're talking about!" she pleaded, though already knowing that Chizuru was in 'another time'… just as her mother said she would if 'it' happens again.

Meanwhile, ol' blue eyes was having trouble locating the priestess. _'Damn, she's using illusion techniques like it is second nature to her. __Cologne__ did something similar… how did I beat it…? *twitch* Ugh… never mind, it's not going to work on her.' _

"Utsu!" 

Chizuru appeared above the ponytailed boy and delivered a kick to the back of Ranma's head. He staggered, leaning forward as the impact took effect. The priestess then appeared to his side and drove her knee to blue eyes' stomach. Ranma grimaced in pain; he stood back up while clutching his sides.

"Zan!"

The dark-haired girl twirled a couple of times before stopping in front of Ranma. She then delivered a hard palm strike to the ponytailed boy's heart causing him to be catapulted backwards into the woods. Chizuru was far from finished as she raised her arm and sent an illusion towards Ranma to perform an aerial spinning kick that connected to the dazed boy's chest. 

Chizuru let off a startled gasp as Ranma vanished and reappeared behind her. Ranma grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to talk some sense into the angered woman. "Hey! I don't want to fight you so calm down!" he basically implored. 

An illusion crept up to him and pried his hands off the priestess. Chizuru pulled something from her clothes and launched it towards Ranma. It was a piece of paper with some type of inscription written on it, but it somehow managed to graze the ponytailed boy's left arm. 

Ranma was about to retaliate but stopped when he noticed blue smoke coming from his wound. _'What the…?' _The blue-eyed boy screamed as his left arm felt like it's on fire. He fell to his knees and immediately clutched his injured arm.

"That seal is used specifically to those tainted with Orochi blood. It neutralizes the demon's blood and leaves that area paralyzed for a long time." Chizuru said coldly.

The ponytailed boy's eyes flashed and took a violet hue for a brief moment. "Fine by me… Mouko Takabisha!" A wave of golden ki surged towards the priestess, engulfing her entire body. His eyes widened when he realized what he did, he was about to rush over to help the priestess when he heard a female voice echoing through the woods. 

"The seal that binds, the seal that holds, darkness that flows within… shall be engulfed by the guiding light… let thy mirror show the way…"

Ranma stood up and looked around his surroundings, trying to locate the priestess. 

"…sono chikara… fuujimasu!!! (5)"

As Chizuru said those words, Ranma felt a hit connect to his back. Next thing he knew, he feels like throwing up. He could sense that his ki has been drained almost to its limit, just like those times with Ms. Hinako. The dark-haired woman appeared a few feet from Ranma. Her clothes were ripped on some places and a few wounds were visible on her face.

Ranma barely had time to recover as an illusion worked its way towards him with a flurry of arm swings and leg sweeps. To make matters worse, Chizuru joined the fray and performed graceful yet deadly moves against the ponytailed boy. They moved higher and deeper into the mountain woods as Ranma continued to evade Chizuru's attacks and illusions, little did he know that he was slowly being pushed backwards to the edge of a cliff.  

* * *

Reiko along with the rest of the Kagura servants arrived at the scene of the fight. Reiko noticed that Chizuru was using her Ichimen Ichi Tatsu: San Rai no Fu Jin on Ranma. "Ranma! Behind you!" 

Ranma heard the shout, causing him to look over his shoulder. _'Crap, so that's why she was passive on her attacks. I've got to try something…' _"Now or never… Kijin Raishu Dan!" he yelled. A vacuum blade, though obviously weak, made its way to the priestess. It still did the trick as Chizuru jumped over the projectile and lunged at the ponytailed boy.

Ol' blue eyes rolled forward, narrowly evading the powerful downward strike that caused some cracks on the ground. Ranma stopped in a kneeling position and looked at Chizuru, who summoned yet another illusion of herself. Without saying a word, she rushed forward to continue her assault.

_'Dammit come out you stupid flame!' _he thought as he held his right arm in front of him. _'Come out! I won't be beaten by some ki drain attack or some mumbo jumbo seal! Come OUT!!!' _His hair took a reddish hue for a bit before returning to black. Ranma saw the flame slowly flickering on his hand; he chuckled slightly before facing the oncoming priestess.  

"HA!" he exclaimed, summoning his flame with his good arm and creating a wall of fire between him and the priestess. The mirror keeper managed to do a high arching back flip just in time to avoid getting singed by the flames.  

"Watch out!" Ranma shouted, trying to warn the priestess.

Chizuru barely had time to understand what Ranma said as she landed back onto the edge of the cliff but the ground was too weak to support her now so it crumbled, causing her to fall off the precipice.

"Chizuru-sama!!!" The Kagura servants shouted at the same time.

Chizuru was too shocked to do anything, she just allowed herself to fall off. She was snapped back into reality when she felt someone grab her hand; she looks up and saw Ranma, who had a pained look on his face. The ponytailed boy has both of his arms stretched out, one was holding the girl while the one that Chizuru 'sealed' was struggling to hold onto the edge of the cliff.

The priestess' eyes widened as she realized what the blue-eyed boy did. _'Why is he saving me…? No…! Impossible! He shouldn't be able to move that arm let alone use it in such a way…' _

"Hold on! I'm gonna try to jump up…" he was cut off as his fingers slipped causing both of them to resume their fall.

Chizuru screamed in terror while Ranma dove for Chizuru and managed to grab the screaming girl by the waist with his good arm. 

"Geimon Tetsu Sen Shi!!!" He buried his supposed 'sealed' arm deep into the side of the cliff creating a human lifeline of sorts. Ranma let off a sigh of relief for the moment but he doesn't know how much longer his injured arm can hold out. 

"Why…?" Chizuru's voice was weak but Ranma still heard it. 

Ranma turned towards the priestess, only to find her out cold. _'Probably fainted from shock…' _The Kagura servants soon tossed the ponytailed boy a rope to hold onto, the two were then pulled back to safety.

* * *

**Kagura**** Shrine**

It has been a couple of hours since that incident, Reiko tended to Ranma's wounds while Chizuru has been carried to her house to rest for the day. 

"I'm truly sorry Mr. Ranma… I should have stopped Chizuru-sama from attacking you from the start." Reiko said with an apologetic look.

Ranma just chuckled, wincing a few times as he did so. "Don't blame yourself; things like this happen to me all the time."

The dark-haired girl looked at Ranma with a questioning gaze. "All the time?" she asked. Seeing the boy nod, she could only blink in response.

As Reiko put the finishing touches in the boy's bandages, Ranma quickly gathered his stuff and gets ready to leave the shrine. "Well, I should get going… I'm sorry for causing a lot of trouble." He said, bowing his head.

The shrine caretaker bowed as well. "No kind sir, it is I who should apologize. Please hold no ill will towards us, I, along with the Kagura clan give you our sincere apology."

Ranma merely smiled and begins to walk towards the front gate. _'Heh,__ can't believe I relied on the one thing that I hate. I did found out about the Orochi myth but something about it seemed off… I really can't explain it. Perhaps I can learn more from the Kusanagi shrine…'_

* * *

**France******

Chris played the drums with his extraordinary quickness and expertise. Yashiro and Shermie gaped in awe as the blue-eyed boy continued to play in an almost soothing, hypnotic sound. His performance got the attention of the crowd as well as those that were there to try out for the band.  

"He's perfect for the job! Hey Yashiro, I think we have ourselves a winner!" the twin ponytailed woman happily exclaimed.

Yashiro grunted. "Look at him, he's still a kid! I wouldn't want to- HEY! What was that for?!" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.  

"Don't call him that! Just because he's a bit young doesn't mean he can't cut it. Besides… I think of him as if he's my little brother already." 

The blonde became silent. _'Hmm… he does have talent but I sense something deeper than that, wonder what it is? Sigh… if I don't hire him Shermie will throw a hissy fit, might as well… he seems popular to the crowd already.' _"Alright… you win, he's our third member. We better announce it already; we have a long way to go…"

* * *

**Tendo**** Home**

"Right, thanks for the info."  

Nabiki hung up the phone and stared at the photos in her hands once more. _'It is you Saotome. I don't know why you haven't contacted us yet but whatever the reason is, you shouldn't have deceived us like that. I think there are quite a number of people that would want this info for a price.'_

The middle Tendo daughter then began to write a list of people to sell the info to. _'Yes, definitely quite a number of people…'_

She picked up the phone and dialed the number of her first client. 

"Hello, Kuno-baby? I have some information regarding your pigtailed goddess…"

* * *

**Osaka******

"Strange… this city has a different feel to it now. Ah, it's probably just my imagination. Let's see here… the Kusanagi shrine is only a couple of miles from the other end of the city so there's no need to rush." Ranma said to himself.

Unfortunately, he decided to take a short cut on Uehommachisuji Avenue…

"Hey, is that…?"

"Yeah, I think it is! What is he doing back here?!"

"Call the police! Hurry!"

Ranma of course, was totally oblivious to all of this… that is until he saw a couple of police cars coming his way. His muscles tensed and his eyebrow started to twitch for some reason. True enough, the police cars stopped right in front of him and the officers quickly surrounded the ponytailed boy.

One of the officers stepped up. "Hold it right there young man! You are under arrest for…" he was cut off by Ranma's sudden outburst.

"What did I do now?! Why is it that you people always blame me all the time?! Can't you find some other guy to blame your problems to?!" he bellowed to the officers and spectators.

A man from the crowd shouted. "Hey! You're the one that destroyed this area so it's just right to blame you!!!"

Ranma blinked at the accusation, he looked around and realized that this was the place where he fought Iori a few days back. He had an embarrassed look on his face as he tried to think of something to say. "Err… Oh, right… my bad…" 

"My bad?! My bad?! Is that all you have to say?! Officers, arrest this man at once!!!"

The officers started advancing towards the ponytailed boy, clubs and tasers in hand. Ranma felt the urges inside of him grow but quickly suppressed it with his soul of ice. Tired and frustrated, he does something he rarely uses…

"AHHH!!! What is that?!" he exclaimed, pointing up to the sky. Seeing everyone fall for it, he used the Saotome secret technique… he ran away, leaving dust trails along the way.

There was now a city-wide manhunt for Ranma Saotome, wanted for destruction of private property, endangering the lives of the citizens and for resisting arrest not to mention he's also wanted for information regarding the whereabouts of his father, Genma Saotome (6). 

A couple of police cars passed by a dark alley, Ranma poked his head outside to see if there are any more officers running around. He was caught in a mental struggle to either give up to the police or run away and hide via Umisenken like a certain panda would. He was caught off guard when a hand suddenly covered his mouth and pulled him back into the dark alley. 

"Shhhh!! Please be quiet Ranma." 

Ranma was released from the hold after the figure said those words. The ponytailed boy relaxed and tensed at the same time because of two reasons: one, the voice was female and two, she knows who he is meaning it could be another one of his father's stupid promises.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" he demanded.

The figure nodded and stepped into view, she was about the same height as Ranma, has dark hair and eyes. Her bangs are curled and her long hair was being held in position by a single hairpin. She was wearing dark, ninja-style clothes that reminded Ranma of Konatsu for some reason but the one that got his full attention was the katana she's holding tightly. 

"I'm not here to fight Ranma; I'm just here to tell you to go back to your mother… she'll explain everything." She calmly said before jumping to the rooftops, leaving a confused Ranma behind. 

* * *

**City Outskirts**

Ranma leaned on a tree as he was gasping for air. _'Geez, I didn't know they'd take property damages seriously! I guess I got used to what it was like in Nerima… and who was that woman? She's like my mother, especially with that katana of hers… my mother…?' _he paused in mid-thought.

The blue-eyed boy opened his side pack and checked the list once more. _'Hmm… can't go back to __Osaka__ so the Kusanagi shrine is out. I think it's time for that mother and son talk… only this time… I won't take no for an answer.' _

Gathering his things, he heads back to Tokyo…

* * *

_A person can only be pushed so far… the question is how much can that person take? For once that person loses control; there is nobody in the world that can pull him back…_

* * *

(1) – Hello! How are you?

(2) – I'm doing well.

(3) – Drill! (…don't ask…  ^^;); Utsu means strike; Zan means slash 

(4) – What? Don't tell me you didn't see this coming considering Ranma's track record.

(5) – I will… seal that power!

(6) – Personally, I'd like to see him get shot to death by the people he swindled. Either that or have his fat ass fed to the lions, dip him into a pool full of crocodiles and then finally sell his furry butt to the highest bidder. =)

**# # #**

**AN:** It is rather short and doesn't advance the story much but the next part will be posted in a couple of days along with another interlude… I'll be updating three times this week if all goes well. 

** Yes, I'm revising the Orochi myth for better story flow if that's what you're wondering. 

I'll be frank, Chizuru sucked in KOF '03. She's slower (again), less powerful (yet again) and her reaction time is one second too late (SNK Playmore lives to destroy huh? At least they're not as bad as Eolith ^^). So I based the Chizuru on this fic with the '96 Chizuru (Gotta love her illusion juggles back then) where she was still one helluva fighter (Eheheh, hear that Gonads? =]), hard to master but when you do get the hang of it; the game becomes pretty easy from that point on.

Wow! There are a lot of Ranma/KOF fics popping up as of late. Good, can't get enough of those. ^^ And WAIIIII!!!! Drakuzz-sama updated! 

Till next time, Ja ne!

**Next Chapter Secrets Revealed II: Origins**

"S-son…?"

"Why is this happening to me?! I never wanted any of this! I just wanted a normal life!!! Was that too much to ask for?! Kami-sama, WHY?!"


	8. Secrets Revealed II: Origins

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer :**I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! *WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!* Ugh… shutting up now… oi… 

Flames of Destiny

by Insane Blight

Chapter 7: **Secrets Revealed II: Origins**

* * *

**Tendo**** Home**

Kasumi ushered quite a number of unexpected guests towards the Tendo living room. The Kuno siblings along with their ninja Sasuke, Happosai, Konatsu and even Kurenai Tsubasa with his usual mailbox disguise. 

Konatsu was, shall we say dumped onto the curve when Ukyou was reunited with her family but he is still trying to help Ukyou overcome her sadness and he thinks that this information might just do the trick. They were soon joined by Soun and Genma, who were obviously drunk, and the Tendo sisters.

Kasumi was the first one to speak. "Nabiki-chan, what is the occasion?"

"Kasumi is right Nabiki, why did you call these people… get off of me you pervert!!!" Akane bellowed as she malleted Kuno to the ground.

Nabiki gave Akane a very stern look. "Akane, how long did you know that Ranma's still alive?" she asked bluntly.

Akane was struggling for words to say, she was stunned by her sister's question. _'I should have known… Nabiki… don't tell me… you're not planning to…?! He's not the Ranma that you know anymore.' _

Nabiki took Akane's silence as her answer. "So you did know that Ranma's still alive! And he's coming back to Auntie Saotome's house."

This of course brought several reactions from her guests…

"Oh my…"

"Ranma-san is alive?!"

"What foul sorcery is this?! I will not allow that vile cur to enslave my fierce tigress Akane Tendo and my pigtailed goddess once more!"

*WHAM!* "Pervert!!!"

"Ohohohohoho!!!! Ranma-sama came back for me!"

Genma cried crocodile tears. "My worthless son, running away from his duties!" 

The Tendo waterworks began as well. "Now the schools will finally be joined! Oh happy day!"

"Indeed Tendo, we need to prepare for Akane and Ranma's wedding!" Genma said, nodding to his friend.

Nabiki smirked. _'Predictable as always…' _

"Nabiki, don't do this please… he's not the Ranma that you know and I… I was trying to forget…" Akane didn't finish what she started; she ran up to her room and slammed the door shut.

"Ahhhh… love is in the air, isn't it Saotome?"

Genma wholeheartedly agreed with his long time training partner. "Indeed Tendo, with the master here to help the schools will surely be joined! Isn't that right master?"

"Who cares about such things? I'm just happy that Ranma-chan is back!" Happosai shouted as he jumped onto the roof of the Tendo home. "Ranma-chan! Come to me, Ranma-chan!" the perverted master sprinted forward, eager to grope the Jusenkyo cursed boy. 

"Oh my, does Grandfather Happosai know the location of Auntie's house?"  

Nabiki shook her head. "Nope. I wouldn't worry about him; he'll be back sooner or later."

* * *

**Saotome**** Home**

Nodoka sighed; she just received a call from her friend saying that her son is going back here. Her hands were a little shaky, probably due to stress. She took her katana from the mantle and slowly made her way outside the house.

Ranma walked into the busy streets of Tokyo, not really minding the shocked looks on some of the people, his cover was already blown anyway. He finally arrived at his mother's home, he was about to knock but the door suddenly opened to reveal his mother Nodoka, who looked like hell… probably because of what he was about to ask her. 

"I knew you were coming back, let's go inside."

* * *

"I haven't seen you in quite a while but I see that you're doing fine on your own." The auburn-haired woman nervously said as she sat down and timidly faced her son. 

Ranma shrugged. "Can't say the same to you mom." He said, eyeing his mother's appearance once more. _'This is getting nowhere, when is she gonna get to the point?!'_

Nodoka nervously laughed for a moment before she sobered up. "You're right, I've been in deep thought these past couple of weeks and I hardly got any sleep in the process. Would you like something to drink? I got…"

"Cut the damn formalities and let's get down to business!" the ponytailed boy said harshly, startling the Saotome Matriarch even more. "I'm tired mom, I've been put to hell these past few months and I don't know how much longer I can take!"   

"S-son…?"

"Why is this happening to me?! I never wanted any of this! I just wanted a normal life!!! Was that too much to ask for?! Kami-sama, WHY?!" he shouted, punching right through a wall as he did so.  

The Saotome Matriarch took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll tell you all about the Orochi clan and the true story regarding Orochi itself."

* * *

"Around 2000 years ago, Orochi was not known as the demon that destroyed countless villages back then, it was only known as the guardian of the earth or the embodiment of ki itself, and most of the people consider Orochi as a god. Also back in those days, when civilizations were just beginning to flourish in Japan… various clans and religions were formed. One of these religious groups is called the Orochi cult. 

The Orochi cult just appeared out of nowhere, they were known for their abilities to create 'miracles' by using the excess ki flowing throughout the world. The people they helped were very grateful to them and the cult was content to see their happy faces. Soon, the cult became a clan and their popularity soared all over the country. They were content with their lives and in helping others. 

However, one fateful event changed all that…

Half of the clan was out on a mission while the rest stayed at home. When they came back, they found their village burned to the ground and their clan members viciously slaughtered. The women, the children… everyone… dead. They were in shock at the events but they managed to capture one of the culprits just a few miles from their village. He confessed that it was planned by various religious sects and clans who were jealous of the Orochi clan's success. 

To say they were angry was an understatement; they swore vengeance to every clan there was in existence. The Orochi clan soon began to think of themselves as Orochi's children, they did not refer to themselves as 'humans' anymore. The clan believed that they saw the true nature of humans that day… they were nothing but a plague in their eyes ever since."

***

_Ranma__ was at a loss for words, he had never thought that it would be something like this. Nodoka noticed her son's shocked look but decided to continue anyway, he asked for this in the first place._

***

"Fueled by rage, the Orochi clan soon made plans to summon their god to wipe out humanity on the face of the earth. It took a couple of years before they finally came up with a way to summon Orochi. They selected eight clan members, who were well-versed in internal energies, to gather the great amount of power that was required for the ritual. The rest of the clan would channel the energy gathered by the eight warriors and transfer it to Orochi. 

The plan was executed but they did not expect the outcome of the ritual. It was indeed a success but all the clan members died in the process. However, the eight warriors were brought back to life by Orochi. They got what they wanted, they were 'reborn' as Orochi's children… and are called the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu. Each of these eight warriors has a specific amount of control over a certain element."

***

_"Orochi Hakketsu Shuu… like Mature…" Ranma whispered to himself._

***

"And 1800 years ago, history happened. Orochi began its rampage along with the Hakkeshu, they slaughtered people left and right, burned villages and tribes to the ground and viciously murdered the clan head of each one. However, the Orochi was still weak after being released so it ordered the Hakketsu Shuu to abduct eight maidens with strong dormant ki to be sacrificed for the ritual.

Time passed by and the eight maidens have been captured, they were presented to Orochi to be slaughtered. They were killed one at a time and then it came down to the last maiden. Orochi swiftly ended her life and the Hakketsu Shuu was prepared to leave Orochi to rest when they saw people coming their way…"  

***

_"The Kusanagi, Yasakani and Yata clans correct?" Ranma asked, a bit calmer now._

_Nodoka__ nodded and continued with the story…_

***

"Those three clans were also religious groups that flourished in those times. Kusanagi and Yasakani clans have these special techniques in which they can summon crimson flames from their hands while the Yata clan specializes on illusion techniques."  

***

_Ranma__ flinched when his mother mentioned illusion techniques but managed to keep his cool._

***

"The clans were represented by their most skilled members, who brought along their clan's special artifacts. The artifacts were the Kusanagi sword, the Yasakani beads and the Yata mirror. A bloody battle ensued between the clans and in the end, the three sacred clans managed to force the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu to withdraw. They did so because they thought Orochi was at its full strength already… how wrong they were…"

***

_Ranma__ raised an eyebrow at that; he then gave the nod to his mother to continue._

***

"Soon after they left, Orochi entered the fray and fought the three clans. The battle was long and hard but Orochi was far from invincible. The last maiden sacrifice was, in fact, alive and well thanks to the Yata illusion technique. The battle ended with Yasakani negating its powers, Kusanagi dealing the final blow and Yata sealing Orochi's essence or ki through the use of the Yata mirror.

I think you already know this, the place where this all happened was at Ryugenzawa. Orochi's 'body' sank to the bottom of the lake and was later sealed by the Yata clan. 

The Hakkeshu found out about their master's defeat and confinement and was enraged even further, they thought of this incident as an insult to their kind. 

The Orochi has been sealed, but not for long. The serpent's ki was too much to bear for Yata alone so Orochi would awaken every 100 years of imprisonment, only to be sealed by the three clans again. 

The Hakkeshu were forced into hiding when the Kusanagi and Yasakani clan began their search for the Orochi warriors. A lot of years go by and the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu had somehow managed to create a clan once more…" 

***

_"Don't tell me… the eight of them?!"_

_"True… some of them were closely related but it didn't bother them in the least, they did not want their clan to be tainted with human blood…"_

***

"The Orochi clan divided themselves into eight tribes, each tribe representing one of the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu. Not long after that, the clan had enough manpower to fight against the Kusanagi and Yasakani clan. Their bloody battle continued for years, neither side gaining the upper hand… that is until 660 years ago…"

***

_"The Yasakani unholy pact…?"_

_"Yes…"_

***

"The Yasakani clan got tired of living in the Kusanagi clan's shadow so they decided to form a pact with Orochi, the agreement was that they will get the power needed to outclass the Kusanagi clan but in exchange, they must destroy the seal that the Yata clan created around the serpent's body.

The Yasakani eagerly accepted the terms and released the seal at Ryugenzawa, giving Orochi a little more leeway. The Kusanagi soon found out about this and declared the entire Yasakani clan as traitors, they were then involved in a long blood feud with the Kusanagi clan. 

The Orochi clan took this opportunity to accomplish their goal. While the Kusanagi and the Yasakani clans fought it out, they began their search for the Yata mirror and the seals that the Yata clan placed on Orochi…" 

***

_"Mom?__ H-How do you know all of this?" Ranma asked albeit timidly, not really sure if he wanted to hear it form his mother. _

_Nodoka__ looked at her son with sorrowful eyes. "I am Nodoka, the daughter of the last Orochi Hakketsu Shuu of the sacred flame."_

* * *

**Tendo**** Home**

"Akane-chan?" Kasumi asked as she knocked on Akane's bedroom door. She turned the knob and found it unlocked so she took a look to see how her sister is doing. 

"Ka-Kasumi-oneechan…"

"What's wrong? Ranma's alive so you should be happy right?" The eldest Tendo sister soothingly whispered to her sister's ear as she embraced Akane like a mother would to her child. _'What's wrong? I'm glad that Ranma's alive but why is Akane like this?'_

Akane shook her head. "I… I already met him a couple of weeks ago. I wanted him to come back with me and back to Nerima but he didn't want to go back… he-he said he didn't want me involved with his life anymore…" she said between sobs.

Kasumi brushed her sister's hair. "Why is that Akane-chan? What would make him do that?"

Akane cried even harder. "He-he didn't want me with him… h-he said that he ki-killed those people in China… he hasn't forgiven himself for losing control and he said that he would never forgive himself if he ended up hurting me. That's why… that's why I didn't mention him being alive to anyone… I-I was trying to forget him all this time but… but I can't! I just can't! And now Nabiki…"

"Akane…" 

* * *

**Saotome**** Home**

_Ranma__ sat there, stunned at the turn of events. 'Orochi clan…? That means that I'm… wait, why did the Riot of Blood happen only now if I am of Orochi blood in the first place?' "I am a half-breed…? If I am of Orochi blood then why did my heritage manifest itself just now?" he asked, though he was a bit surprised at how calm he still was even after all of this. _

_"I am getting to that…"_

***

"For years the entire Orochi clan focused on two goals, the revival of Orochi and the destruction of humanity. One of the eight tribes was different from the rest, that tribe is the Orochi tribe of the sacred flame. We were considered as the closest tribe to Orochi because of our inborn ability to communicate with our god back in those times. 

We were also known for our control of the sacred (1) flame, almost the same one as the Yasakani's but our flame has a slight difference to that cursed clan. Unlike them, we can control our flame any way we want if we train on it hard enough, we can also use the flame together with our Orochi blood to counteract almost all Yata seal." 

***

_'Yata seal… so that's why I was able to move my arm after I summoned the __fla__me…'_

***

"Moving on, there was a certain point in time when the Kusanagi clan got lucky. They discovered where the meeting of the eight tribe heads was being held so they struck, killing everyone with Orochi blood. All of the eight tribes were in an uproar when they heard of this. One survivor was found though… a small child, a child that vowed vengeance to the humans… his name is Goenitz, the son of the recently killed Hakkeshu of wind."

New tribe heads were named a few years later, but the eight tribes were forced back into hiding. My tribe didn't hide in forests or at the mountains, we tried to mingle with the humans without having them knowing what we really are…"

***

_"So… our tribe was just like Guidel's…?"_

_Nodoka__ stared at him wide-eyed. "How do you know Guidel?! Whom did you talk to?!"_

_It's Ranma's turn to look shocked. "I found a journal… a journal saying that Guidel betrayed the clan…" he managed to squeak out in response._

_The auburn-haired woman quickly collected herself. "I see… well, I should explain how that happened…"_

_***_

"Guidel and I, we grew up together and perhaps it would've been something more if the tribe separation did not happen…

Guidel was always there for me since childhood and I looked up to him ever since. As time passed by, we grew closer and closer and the tribe was happy to see us together. In 1976, the two of us were practically inseparable. We shared the same interests and dreams… we didn't want it to stop but all good things must come to an end… 

You see, Guidel was soon named the Hakkeshu of water and became the leader of that tribe despite his young age while my mother was chosen as the Hakkeshu of fire. The tribe heads decided that the clan should hide for awhile before they do anything more. 

There was a huge argument within the tribes but it became clear that our tribe of the sacred flame was their priority, we don't know why that is… but they soon agreed that our tribe should be the one to hide so they asked us to stay within a village full of humans. They thought that the Kusanagi clan would never think of the Orochi clan living with the humans so they agreed to it. 

Parting with Guidel was the hardest thing for me to do… I loved him and I think I still do after all this time."

***

_"So, you're saying that he could've been my father?"_

_Nodoka__ nodded. "Yes, if the circumstances were a little different…"_

***

"That move by the tribe heads changed our views on humans as well. The time we spent with them, we learned that they are just like us. The only difference I can find was our beliefs, the one that we were taught when we were little, varies just a little from theirs.

Our whole tribe soon began to doubt our beliefs on humans and we started treating humans equally, under the other tribe's noses of course. I also talked about this to Guidel in the past, and he feels the same way. But… one fateful day in 1978, my mother came back from the clan meeting and she looked spooked. 

She told us that she heard in secret that the children of the Orochi tribe of the sacred flame were going to be sacrificed for some unknown ritual. At first we didn't want to believe it, the elders tried communicating to Orochi but they did not get a response… that was it. Our clan feared for the lives of the children so we planned on running away…  

But as fate would have it, the Hakkeshu of Wind Goenitz found us out and started killing the entire tribe. My mother fought the insanely powerful Hakkeshu but sh-she died in the end but her sacrifice allowed some of the families to escape. To make matters worse, the sealed Orochi himself spoke to us through our link saying that he promises to hunt each one of us down to punish us infidels…

We were hunted like dogs, by both the Orochi clan AND the Kusanagi clan. The Orochi clan had other problems to deal with though; some of the other tribes began to have doubts as well and soon rebelled against those loyal to Orochi. The tribes fought amongst themselves, decreasing our clan's number day by day. Only a few survived the clan wars a couple of years later and the tribes dwindled in numbers and were almost non-existent this present day." 

***

_"I see… but it still doesn't explain my heritage manifestation!"_

_"Okay, I'll go into that now."_

***

"I met and married Genma and a year later, I gave birth to you Ranma. When you were a mere infant, you were already showing symptoms of the Blood Riot so I took you to my best friend Shizuka Kayama… now Shizuka Kusanagi, where she used this orb (2) to seal my Orochi heritage a year ago… she sealed your powers too but it can only be used once though… 

You grew up like a normal child; there were times when I would take you to Guidel's tribe. Yes, I found out that he married a human too but we never stopped communicating with each other. When you were four, you used to play with Guidel's energetic daughter Leona all day when we visit their tribe."

***

_Ranma__ tried to suppress his laughter. 'Eheh, who would have thought? Leona? The one I fought back at the ruins…? The same one that my mother described… was my first childhood friend?!'_

***

"Genma was unaware of this because of his long training trips with his master. Then Genma came with that silly seppuku contract and that damned training trip… I refused the first few days and would have for the rest of my life if I had not received word that Goenitz was in the area. I was afraid for your safety so I dejectedly agreed to your father's idea.

Goenitz was indeed in the area, I think that he was still trying to unseal Orochi from its Yata prison. I fled, luring him away from Tokyo as soon as possible. 2 years later, I heard about the incident at Guidel's tribe… Leona went into the Riot of Blood just after Goenitz found them out as traitors. It was a no brainer on who invoked the Blood Riot on Leona; she would never have gone through that phase because her power was also sealed by Shizuka.

I never thought you would encounter Orochi's 'body' on that damned training trip, If I knew then I would never had allowed it. I'm so sorry… you must hate me and the entire Orochi clan right now."

***

_Ranma__ stood up and turned his back on his mother. He then closed his eyes and sighed deeply…_

_"I need some time to think…"_

He slowly walked out the door and onto the Saotome garden.

* * *

**Saotome****Garden******

Ranma walked along the Saotome garden, his head was hung low and his eyes were fixed on the ground. _'I guess I never really had any chance for a normal life… it would have been better if Guidel did turn out to be my father. You got what you wanted Orochi, you cursed me again… but hahah… no matter how much I try I can't seem to blame you or your- no, our clan for this…'_

Ranma's ponderings were interrupted when he saw part of a wall explode into dust. At first, the ponytailed boy thought it was Ryoga that got lost again but it became clear that it was something far worse than pig-boy…

"The schools will finally be joined! Oh happy day!"

"Boy! How dare you run away from your duties! Go ahead and marry Akane now!"

"Ohohohohoho! Ranma-sama, you've come back to me!" 

"Vile cur! Where has thou hidden thy pigtailed goddess?!"

The loony squad appeared into view. The ponytailed boy noticed the Tendo sisters peeking through the smashed wall. At first, he thought that it was Nabiki and Akane's doing but soon changed his mind as he saw the apologetic look on Kasumi and Akane's faces. 

Understanding that they did all they could to stop the group; he then set his eyes on Nabiki. The smirk, the crossed arms and the 'know-it-all' look were there. He almost had the urge to burn the middle Tendo girl to ashes then and there. _'I… I… can't… AHHHH!!!!' _

"Have at thee!!!" 

*SMACK!*

Ranma was still staring at Nabiki when his body went into action. He grabbed the kendoist's bokken and promptly snapped it in half. He delivered a high kick that connected to the kendoist's face; he then jumped and performed an elbow smash to Kuno's head, knocking him out. 

"Ohohohoho! Ranma-sama, come to me!"

*CRACK!*

The blue-eyed boy punched Kodachi's face with such force that the gymnast was flung to the other side of the garden. What was left of Kodachi…? Not a pretty sight to say the least. Ranma still hasn't removed his cold stare at the middle Tendo girl. Nabiki on the other hand, stared wide-eyed at the events that took place_. 'Ranma hit a girl?! It's not like him!'_

//FLASH//

"He's not the Ranma that you know…"

//FLASH//

_'So Akane was telling the truth…?' _Nabiki finally noticed the glare and gulped audibly, for the first time in her life she felt like a bug about to be squashed by someone.

Kasumi looks on in fear and Akane looks on in shock. Soun and Genma were oblivious to this of course; they got into the ponytailed boy's face and quickly began to berate him for running away from his obligations. 

Nodoka finally came outside and saw the carnage at her garden. She had a dangerous glint in her eyes when she heard the two fathers blaming her son. She took a step forward but paused when her blood began to boil. _'So… he chose to be awakened…'_

* * *

While Genma rants about how dishonorable his son is, Akane and Kasumi noticed that Ranma was clenching his fists so tight that blood was starting to come out of it. Speaking of the ponytailed boy, his eyes were covered by his bangs but the two girls can clearly see a few tears falling down his face. 

"Is that all you care about? Do you only think about yourself? Don't you even think of my well being at all…?" Ranma's voice was barely above whisper.

Genma, of course was oblivious to Ranma's current state of mind. "Of course I care about my, I mean, your well being! C'mon boy! Marry Akane and I'll forgive you for running away from your obligations." The bald martial artist stated proudly. He was totally oblivious to the scowls on Akane, Kasumi and Nodoka's faces as well. 

Akane was about to send Genma to LEO via Akane air but stopped when she heard someone laughing. Everyone turned towards the ponytailed boy, who was hunched over and chuckling darkly to himself. 

"Hahahahah… I see…" Ranma muttered. Everyone was then thrown back by the sudden explosion of his blue-violet aura. "Then, I have no regrets… for what I'm about to do." He raises his head and Akane's eyes widened as she saw Ranma's violet eyes, violet even down to the whites. 

"Omae o korosu!!! (3)"

* * *

(1) – Sacred to them, Orochi is their god after all.

(2) – The one Nodoka was holding in Chapter 3, it seals the Orochi blood but can easily be countered by another person well-versed in sealing techniques.

(3) – I'll kill you!!!

**# # #**

**AN:** Hope that this version of the Orochi myth made some sort of sense, or else I would probably write the darn thing all over again. The myth was a mixture of the original SNK version coupled with the first snk/playmore version (Yasakani), I also added some Jap and HK manga references (The Hakkeshu tribes) and a little of my own to the story. 

As usual, I'll focus on Ranma's thoughts in the Interlude. It will also explain his attitude towards his 'father'. Just wondering, what would be the outcome of the match? Dead Panda? Dismembered? Maimed? Singed? Opinions will be really helpful in ridding the world of worthless pandas so please R&R. 

Till next time, Ja ne!

Next **Interlude II: Conflicting Minds**

_'Where did my father go? Did he even exist? Is this the real him?'_


	9. Interlude II: Conflicting Minds

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! *WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!* Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

**Interlude II: Conflicting Minds**

* * *

**Kagura**** Home**

The priestess sighed as she recalled her encounter a few days ago. _'I was at fault… I jumped to conclusions; I should've had more control over my personal feelings. One thing that bothers me is that his aura is definitely of the Orochi clan, so why did he help me? Reiko said that he was only here to ask me about the Orochi myth and I couldn't sense any lies in his words as well. Oh, I'm so confused! Maki, I __wis__h you were here with me…' _

Reiko quietly opened the door to Chizuru's room; she peeked inside and saw the priestess staring blankly outside the window. The young servant hesitantly knocked on the door a couple of times to try and get Chizuru's attention. "Lady Chizuru…? Master Kusanagi has just arrived; he's waiting at the guest area ma'am." 

"Fine… tell him I'll be there in a minute." she replied, a little irritated at the sudden intrusion.

Reiko bowed and quickly left the room. _'Sigh… I guess she was reminiscing her time with Maki-sama.' _The young servant walked along the lengthyhallway while in deep thought. _'I wonder what brought Master Kusanagi here. No word has gotten out about that incident with Mr. Ranma so it's not that. Could it be about the Orochi clan? Chizuru-sama said that they showed up during the last King of Fighters tournament so perhaps that's what this is about.'_

She entered the guest room and spotted the Kusanagi heir leaning on a wall. "Master Kusanagi, Lady Chizuru will be here in just a minute." 

Kyo merely nodded, although showing some signs of boredom from his movements. Soon enough, Chizuru entered the room just as Reiko was about to take her leave. The young Kagura servant bowed to the two and promptly left the room, Chizuru knelt in an almost perfect posture and Kyo followed suit.

"Why did you call me Kagura?" 

"I wanted to know if you're interested in joining forces once more for the upcoming tournament. Orochi has grown more powerful, I do not think that the seals will hold the beast for long and perhaps that man's purpose will come to pass this year…" The dark-haired girl calmly stated.

Kyo on the other hand, looked bored. "Aaaand? Look, I have my own team for the tournament and if there are more of those like that bastard Goenitz then I'll just beat them up, simple as that." He said with a shrug.

Chizuru's eyebrows furrowed at the Kusanagi heir's arrogance. "I see… I'm sorry to hear that." she said, she then stood up and heads toward the door. "Perhaps we all need some time to grow up…" she said as she closed the door, ignoring the boy's disputes. 

_'Ranma Saotome and Iori Yagami… I doubt that they will enter the tournament willingly. Then again… Yagami is almost a sure bet when he hears the news that Kyo will enter once again however this Ranma is another matter, he doesn't have a reason to enter the tournament. I guess it'll be only Yagami then…'_

* * *

**France******

Chris was starting to feel uneasy on the chair he's currently sitting on; he leans forward and stares at the floor. He chuckles to himself every now and then, thinking of the irony of it all. _'I wonder what made me do this? Me? The anti-social Chris joining a music group…? And the group still hasn't fallen apart yet?! I'm having a hard time believing it myself… even my time with Ranma didn't go this smoothly.'_

The blue-eyed boy looked at the members of the group and couldn't help but smile slightly. Yashiro was sitting on top of a large speaker with an anxious look etched on his face, Shermie was frantically walking back and forth, mumbling to herself in french while doing so. _'I hope one of them lose it soon, I could use some entertainment myself.'_

_'The dreams did not bother me that much these past few days, though I'm still uncertain about Yashiro and Shermie. Yashiro is friendly with me but there is something about him that gives me the creeps… and it's not his imposing figure! I feel it goes deeper than that. Shermie is… Shermie, I guess… she has this carefree attitude but I know that there is more to her than what she shows in public. Sigh, I better get those two pumped up for the concert…'_

"Oh Come on! So it's our debut as a music band, what's the big deal? We should just do what we do best! Yashiro, stop sitting there like an idiot and Shermie, stop prancing around like a high school girl on a prom night!" 

The blonde glared at the blue-eyed boy while Shermie went over to Chris and began cursing him in French. The brown-haired boy smirked and took the insults in stride. _'Well, at least that got them out of their funk.' _

_'Maybe I should give them a chance, just one chance and hope that it'll work out in the end.'_

"Well, let's give these people a show they won't forget!!!"

* * *

**Saotome****Garden******

Ranma was in deep thought after hearing his clan's dark history. _'And here I thought that nothing could surprise me anymore… I have that serpent's blood inside me all along? Is that why I'm a step ahead of everyone in Nerima back then? Is it because of him that I'm still alive?! Am I supposed to be grateful to that monster for these abilities?' _

The ponytailed boy looks up and saw a couple of the Wrecking Crew blow up a section of the wall. _'This I don't need, I really can't have any peace at all huh? Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be… will I forever be alone? I… I know they say that they 'understand' or they 'know' how I feel but dammit… they're nothing but lies, words of comfort! How the hell can they possibly understand?! I took the lives of an entire race of people… and the worst part is that I liked it!' _

He looked at Nabiki and his bloodlust became harder to control. _'People like her… I bet she'll probably do anything for a large amount of cash. People like her… doesn't care about other people, they only care about themselves… they'd __nev__er give a damn about the lives they've ruined. I… I can't control… myself…!'_

"Have at thee!!!"

Ranma was still staring at Nabiki when his body went into action. He grabbed the kendoist's bokken and promptly snapped it in half. He delivered a high kick that connected to the kendoist's face; he then jumped and performed an elbow smash to Kuno's head, knocking him out. 

"Ohohohoho! Ranma-sama, come to me!"

The blue-eyed boy punched Kodachi's face with such force that the gymnast was flung to the other side of the garden. _'I'm so tired… I just want to get away from everything… I just… I want to run away…'_

Just then, Soun and Genma got in his face and began to berate him about 'honor' and 'responsibility'. Ranma stares right back at his father with sad eyes. _'Where did my father go? The one who would make sure that I am well taken cared of when I was young, the one who would risk his life to save mine… the one who… loved me as his son. Did… did he even exist…?' _

Ranma looks at Genma once more before bowing his head. _'Is this the real him? Were all of the memories I remembered before the training trip all a lie…? I have to make sure…' _

"Is that all you care about? Do you only think about yourself? Don't you even think of my well being at all…?" Ranma's voice was barely above whisper. _'One last chance…'_

Genma, of course was oblivious to Ranma's current state of mind. "Of course I care about my, I mean, your well being! C'mon boy! Marry Akane and I'll forgive you for running away from your obligations." 

Ranma was about to respond when his chest suddenly felt like it was on fire._ 'Wha…?!'_

//Flash//

An image of a burning village, the cries of women and children can be heard from the distance.

In the eyes of a child, you can see the child's mother and father killed in front of him. The child's last vision was a sword making its way towards him…

A group of men armed with swords raiding every house in sight, screams followed suit. A sadistic smile was plastered on their faces afterwards.

An image of a woman holding her dead son in her arms

A man standing over the ruins of his house, tears falling freely from his eyes as he looks at the corpse of his wife.

Image of a little girl desperately trying to 'wake' her parents from their eternal slumber.

An image of Ranma standing in the middle of the village, all the eyes of the murdered people are fixed on him. 

//Flash//

"I see… then I have no regrets, for what I'm about to do…"

Ranma looks up and smiles at his father. His hair changed to a combination of black and violet, his skin grew a little pale, his body became a little more defined and his eyes took on a violet hue, violet even down to the whites.

"I'll kill you!!!"

* * *

**AN:** One more chapter before the Tournament arc begins. Yeah, I'm stalling a bit with this Interlude but I feel as if that I went too fast in regards to Ranma's anger towards Genma. I'm rewriting the panda/Ranma fight scenes in chapter 8… (I went a little overboard ^^;)

Eheheh (Scratches the back of his head)… with those kinds of suggestions, I truly think it's just right to give the fic an R rating starting… hmmmm… now? ^^; Might as well, it'll also give me a lot more freedom in doing detailed fighting scenes, especially for the upcoming tournament. Ja!

**Next Chapter Old Habits Die Hard**

_Blood… his hands were covered in blood… their blood… he actually did it… and he enjoyed every second of it…_


	10. Old Habits Die Hard

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **Huh? Oh… I'm not using my Akane-bashing disclaimer right now. Well… you'll find out sooner or later… *ahem* Anyway, I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters. 

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 8: **Old Habits Die Hard**

* * *

**Saotome****Garden******

"I'll kill you!!!"

Genma stood up and glared at his son. "Boy, stop playing games and do as you're told!"

By this time, Kasumi and Akane got up and made their way towards the Saotome matriarch. Nabiki was still shocked from the events and Soun was whimpering in a corner while saying his 'schools will never be joined' spiel. 

Ranma smiled innocently before running towards Genma with the intent of ripping his father's heart out via Yamasenken's Dokuja Tanketsu Sho (1). Genma was not called the creator of such deadly techniques for nothing, he knew the stance the ponytailed boy made before he charged at him so he quickly sidestepped the lunge and instinctively countered with a standing leg sweep that knocked Ranma off of his feet.

The violet-eyed boy landed roughly but he immediately recovered and rolled to the side to prevent any more attacks from his father. He stood up and chuckled darkly once more. "Impressive! And here I thought I was going to fight a lazy panda… oh well… more fun for me!" he exclaimed, launching a ki blast at the bald martial artist. It's not his usual confidence-based blast nor is it Ryoga's Shi Shi Hokodan for that matter, but a blast filled with anger and malice (2). 

The ki blast was so fast that Genma didn't even have time to leap to safety so he crossed his arms in front of him and hoped that the impact will not hurt as much. The hit never came; the bald martial artist timidly opened his eyes and saw the ki ball just seemingly float right in front of him. He dropped his arms and was about to sigh in relief when a shadow loomed behind him. He turns around and saw a grinning Ranma standing just a few feet from him.

"Boo!"

Ranma punched his father in the face, he then crouched low and delivered a flurry of Amaguriken punches to Genma's stomach, making him take a few steps back. Unfortunately or fortunately, Genma's back collided with the floating ki ball triggering a huge blast that swallowed the Saotome patriarch whole. 

The ponytailed boy closed his eyes and turns around. "Too bad… I soooo wanted to pay him double for the hell he put me through… sigh… heh, who's next?" he asked himself, he looked around the garden before focusing on Nabiki, who was sitting on the ground with her eyes wide from shock. "I guess it's your turn Nabs! You have a HUGE debt that needs to be paid in full!"

* * *

Nodoka was watching the fight with a bewildered look. _'He surpassed the Blood __Rio__t and has conscious control over his power…?! How was that possible?! No… was the price he paid for such an act the loss of his humanity? My baby… do you hate them that much?' _She was snapped back into reality when she noticed Kasumi and Akane walking towards her. "Are you two okay?"  

Kasumi and Akane both nodded albeit hesitantly. "Auntie, what's wrong with Ranma-kun? I've never seen him act like this in his stay in Nerima. He's so… different from the one we know." 

"I… I don't know, I think he has awakened… that would explain his sudden vehemence towards his father." She quietly said to the two girls, although knowing that Akane and Kasumi won't understand the meaning behind those words. _'How could my son… a half-breed, awaken?! Only those with pure Orochi blood undergo that stage… so how?'_

"What do you mean by that Auntie?" Kasumi asked… only to be ignored by the Saotome matriarch. 

Akane was about to repeat her sister's question when she heard Ranma talking to Nabiki. No matter what Nabiki has done in the past, she is still her sister. She ran towards the ponytailed boy hoping to talk some sense into him. 

* * *

"Ranma stop, please!" Akane pleaded as she blocked the way to her sister.

The Orochi half-breed frowned at first… then smirked like a madman before slapping Akane with enough force that knocked the girl to the side. "Outta the way tomboy, it's between me and the merc." He said to the downed form of his former fiancée. "Now then! What shall I do with you Nabs…? Oho! What's this? Up for seconds old man?" he asked as he sensed his father get up.  

"Boy… I'll have to show you your place! Kijin Raishu Dan!" 

Ranma smiled, he turns around just in time to perform a crescent slashing motion that promptly split the vacuum blade in two. He looks at his father and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Ahahahaha! Is that it? I know MY place panda; you're the one who doesn't know yours!"

Genma grunted. "I'll show you!" he shouted as he faded from view. 

The ponytailed boy looks on with boredom. "And thus, we see a 300 pound panda disappear from sight… only to be caught by the neck!" Ranma extends his left arm and it seems as if it was clamped onto something. Sure enough, his father reappeared; the Orochi warrior's hand was choking the life out of the panda-cursed man. "Pops, when will you ever learn? When you use that move, a well trained opponent can actually sense your movement no matter how hard you try to mask it." 

Ranma slammed his father's head to the ground. Ranma was positioned on top of his father while his hand was still gripping the bald man's neck. "It's not perfect old man… come to think of it… with your fat body, I'm not surprised I could sense you that easily at all."

The ponytailed boy's taunts was put to a stop when Genma pushed Ranma's legs apart with his arms, he slid under the half-breed to free himself from the boy's grasp and then he quickly turned around and faced Ranma's back. "Haku Dato Shin Sho! (3)" 

Countless number of finger strikes connected to the Orochi warriors exposed back, ripping right through his shirt in the process. The half-breed soon fell hard to the ground. There was an eerie silence that followed the attack, the air was stagnant and the sky was as clear as it can get. Suddenly, Ranma's downed body was engulfed in purple flames. The winds howled furiously causing everyone to shield their eyes, the sky darkened and thunder can be heard from the distance.

The purple flames grew larger and larger until it formed a symbol on the sky. Nodoka gasped as she saw the flaming symbol, the symbol of the Orochi clan. The flames soon retracted and took the shape of a person. The figure clasped his right hand and soon enough, the flames retreated back into the figure's body. "I must say that I underestimated you old man. I never thought that in your old age you can still put up quite a fight… but it ends here…"

Genma frowned at his son's 'disrespect' while being totally oblivious to Ranma's new power; he lunged at his son once more. Ranma crouched low to avoid the punch, he then delivered a hard right hand to his father's midsection, causing the old man to cough up blood. The Orochi half-breed smirked as an idea came to him, he summoned his sacred flame and lit the bald martial artist on fire. Ranma removed his right hand from Genma's stomach and cups it in front of his father's face. "Mouko Takabisha!"

The ki blast sent the Saotome patriarch crashing inside the house. Ranma looks on with hate-filled eyes at the direction his father went. Rain started to fall, triggering the curse of Jusenkyo on Ranma. His female form seemed to have some slight yet noticeable changes as well. Her hair was now an odd mixture of red and violet, she is a few inches taller and her figure is a lot more defined, giving her a more mature look over her former 'kawaii' body.

Ranma-chan bowed her head; she looked at her hands and saw the blood that was still on it. _'Blood… my hands are covered in blood… my so-called father's blood… I did it… I actually did it. And I loved every second of it!' _She smiles to herself; the bloodlust inside her grows more and more. She paused and turns to her left. Her cold, uncaring eyes locked onto the terrified middle Tendo girl. 

Ranma-chan smirked. "You don't seem so full of yourself now Nabiki…" she couldn't finish her thoughts as she felt something latch onto her chest. 

"Hotcha!" 

* * *

Happosai weaved through the crowded streets of Tokyo, hoping to grope his favorite gender-changing student. Problem is… he doesn't know where the Saotome house was located so he was now searching the Tokyo area in hopes of sensing the ponytailed boy's aura. 

The old pervert tilted his head to the left when he felt a massive discharge of ki. _'What power…! Is this Ranma's aura? It's so dark and full of __mali__ce… Ranma my boy, what happened to you?' _In one of his rare moments of seriousness, the Grandmaster of Anything Goes hastily ran towards the source of the aura, intent on stopping the dark power.

He arrived at the Saotome house a few minutes later; he gaped at the scene in front of him. Sure, the destruction was everywhere… the garden was completely in ruins, the aura of darkness still lingers in the air and the source was in the middle of it. But the one that caught Happosai's attention was the vision of loveliness in front of him; he completely forgot what he came for and allowed his perverted desire to overwhelm him (4).

"Hotcha!"

* * *

Ranma-chan looked down and saw the little troll bury his face onto her chest. She smirked. "Haven't seen you since Osaka pervert, come here and let me give you a hug you won't forget!" Ranma-chan wrapped her arms around Happosai's small body; both were then engulfed in purple flames. The two screamed, Happosai yelled in pain while Ranma-chan cried out in glee.

The red-head pried the little gnome off her body and promptly dropped the troll to the ground. Lucky for him, the rain managed to put out most of the flames on his body. 

"Humans… do not deserve to live. You only care about yourselves; you only help out when it benefits you. You selfish, insignificant worms!" 

Akane got up and faced Ranma-chan. "What are you talking about?" 

The rain intensified, as if symbolizing the girl's rage, she pointed towards the house. "That bald piece of human thrash doesn't even care about his own child. He never loved me! He only looked after his key to retirement! He treated me like dirt… he constantly abused me when I was but a mere child… IS THAT HOW A FATHER SHOULD ACT TOWARDS HIS OWN CHILD?!"

She glanced sideways and glared at Nabiki, she raised her arm and small vacuum blades zeroed in on the middle Tendo girl. Nabiki screamed as the blades continuously cut her flesh open, she was sent into another world of pain as Ranma-chan burned her body but only to an extent in which she'll live to feel the pain. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end of an attack Ice queen? I took that kind of punishment everyday… wonder how long you'll last though…?"

The red-head set her eyes on Kasumi. "If it isn't Ms. Nice girl! Don't even think about it! First you dumped me onto your sister like some leftover thrash! You never helped me either! You just ignored the bad things that goes on around you, hoping that it will work out in the end… right?! Sure, there were times when we actually talked but you never really did listen to me huh? You supported Akane all the way even when you knew she is in the wrong!"

Ranma-chan turns around to face Akane. "YOU! You goddamn filth! You say that you care about me yet you never really did trust me! For well over a year I took your abuse, I saved you countless number of times and what did I get? A mallet on the head almost every time!!! You always took P-chan's side, you refuse to accept your faults and you used me as your daily punching bag! Is that how you express your love?!"

The rain stopped, Ranma-chan bowed her head… it wasn't really clear whether they ones falling from her face were tears or just plain water. _'Is this what I really wanted?'_

"Sai Dai Kyu! Kijin Raishu Dan!"

Ranma-chan quickly covered her body in flames to protect herself but the vacuum blade was too fast as it struck her before she could complete it, causing her flaming body to crash into a large container which by now was full of water. The male Ranma got up and glared at Genma, who was smirking triumphantly. The ponytailed boy coughed up some blood. 

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!"

Ranma vanished into thin air via Umisenken but Genma also learns quickly, he jumped backwards to avoid the ponytailed boy's arching swipe but Ranma's newfound speed allowed him to get behind Genma. The bald martial artist screamed as the Orochi half-breed tried to pull one of his arms out of its socket. Soon enough, a popping sound was heard and blood spilled out of the wound, Genma performed a reverse flip that struck the boy in the jaw. The half-breed released the hold before laughing out loud.

"Ahahaha! What a tenacious bastard you are! Why won't you just accept it…? You will die here and now!"

Just before he could attack, Happosai stood up and latched onto the Orochi half-breed's back, the Grandmaster of Anything Goes pressed a couple of shiatsu points that should paralyze the ponytailed boy for quite a while. "Genma! Hurry up! Do it now!"

Genma's face turned serious. "Boy, you leave me with no choice… Dokuja Tanketsu Sho!" 

Ranma's eyes widened as his father's ki-charged fingers buried themselves into his chest. The three men were frozen in place for what seemed like an eternity… that is until Ranma vanished in front of the panda-cursed man. Happosai was in shock at what he saw, Ranma actually pulled off an advanced illusion technique! 

"Too bad…"

The real Ranma reappeared behind Genma and buried his outstretched arm into his father's side. Genma screamed as his blood gushed out of the wound at an alarming rate. The ponytailed boy was not through, not by a long shot. "This is for making my life a living hell!" he bellowed as he lit his arm on fire, burning the panda-man inside-out.

The Orochi half-breed raised his arm and lifted Genma's body in the air with ease. He smiled as the flames intensified, causing the Saotome patriarch to scream like a little school girl. "Your pain is just beginning!" He released his hold and allowed Genma to fall… straight to his knee. Everybody winced when they heard a loud crack that came from Genma's back.

Genma fell to the ground; his eyes were wide in shock. Happosai threw a Happo-daikairin at Ranma but the half-breed simply swatted it right back to the old pervert, sending him flying away for now. 

The Orochi half-breed smirked at the motionless body of his father. "Oh my! Your spine seemed to have been damaged old man… here… let me help you up!" he said in an amused tone. He lifted his father up by his neck, he removed his hold and started punching at Genma with his newfound strength and speed, and the Saotome patriarch's feet hadn't even had the chance to touch the ground during the entire beating.

Kasumi couldn't watch the brutality any longer so she turned her head to the side, hoping that this madness will stop soon. Nabiki already stood up, ignoring the pain as she did so and moved towards her sisters while Ranma was still preoccupied with his father. Soun, if you can believe it, gathered enough courage to attempt an attack towards the crazed warrior. 

Ranma stopped his assault on Genma; he then turned and faced Soun. "My, my, my… the coward actually lifting a finger for a friend? How, touching… it breaks my heart… if I had one!" He summoned his sacred flame as he yelled. 

The ponytailed boy concentrated, reshaping his flame into some sort of rope. Soun whimpered and began to run away, Ranma launched the flame in the direction of the Tendo patriarch. The flame wrapped itself around the crybaby's body like a snake would to its prey. "Heheh, it actually worked! Now… burn in hell!" he screamed. The sacred flame tightened its hold on Soun until it exploded, burning the crybaby alive. 

"Ahahahaha!!! Suffer! Humans should suffer!!! All of you shall die!" 

Akane ran towards him once more and grabbed the ponytailed boy by the waist. "Ranma stop! Please! You really don't want to do this! Go back!!! Please go back!!!"

Ranma face actually reverted to normal for a moment before his ire got the better of him. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! How the hell would you know?! Get off of me you miserable filth! GET OFF!!!" he bellowed, he grabbed Akane by her neck and he threw her to the side.

He looks up to the dark sky and spewed blood upwards, he laughs like a man possessed before lifting Genma off of his feet once more. He released his hold and arched back to deliver the final blow.

"This is the end, die old man!"__

_Time seemed to slow down as my hand went down to __del__iver the final blow. I closed my eyes; I wanted to forget him… I wanted to forget my father. I felt my fingers pierce through the flesh, I felt warm, human blood come out of the wound… but… it was different. It was not his blood… I slowly opened my hate-filled eyes and I trembled as I saw my worst fear come true… Akane…_

Ranma's hand was buried inside his ex-fiancée's chest, blood was everywhere. Akane was bleeding from the mouth as she spoke. "R-Ran…ma… please… go… back…" 

_I removed my hand; she fell lifelessly to the floor… like a puppet with its strings cut… _

The half-breed stared wide-eyed at the downed body of his former fiancée. His hair slowly turned back to its original color and his eyes reverted to its natural hue… those sorrowful, blue eyes. 

_I felt my heart ache like never before… I cried out, I hoped that this was all a dream. Tears fell freely from my eyes as I knelt down beside her. I gently held her body, my hand instinctively holding onto hers… _

Nodoka and Kasumi rushed to their side, crying as they did so. 

_I knew that it was over… I failed… I have already chosen my path… and the scene in front of me is proof enough… I cried even harder, the pain inside me grows with each passing minute. I gripped her hand tight and I held her close… I lost… I lost…_

"Akaaaannnneeeeeeeeeee!!!"

* * *

**Onboard an Airplane **

Chris clutched his chest as he suddenly felt his heart ache for some reason. Yashiro and Shermie were immediately by his side, asking if he's all right. "I… *pant* I'm fine… I *pant* just felt something… some sort of pain…" he answered in between gasps.

"What do you mean kid? What kind of pain?" Yashiro inquired, he really hates it when Chris talks in riddles.

The blue-eyed boy shook his head. "I don't know… I've got no clue as to why this is happening to me but I feel as if that I should know what it is… I'm not really sure…" He trailed off. 

Shermie placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't mind it Chris, I'm sure it'll disappear with time. Just don't forget that we are here for you, friend's right?"

Chris looked up and saw the friendly smirk on Yashiro's face and the carefree smile on Shermie's, he smiled at the two. "Yes… friends… thank you…" 

* * *

**Osaka****: Hotel Room **

Mature was sitting on the sofa while reading a book when she suddenly felt a surge of power. _'Wha?! Such __mali__ce and pain… who could be doing this…?' _she thought.

"Hey Mature, look at what I got." 

Mature looked up from the book she's reading. "KOF invitations…" she breathed out, her face turning into a more cold and calculating look. "Who sent them? It can't be that damn Kagura, she would prefer to have us banned from the tournament because of our nature."

Vice shrugged. "It was sent by the other sponsors for the tournament. It seems to me that they want to attract audiences all over the world, I heard that the incident with the Riot of Blood both freaked and interested the people so they expect to see more of those in this year's tournament."

The blonde laughed. "Oh they'll see more alright! If the plan comes into fruition, this shall be the tournament that they will never, ever forget."

The red-head joined in as well. "Hahaha! Our goal is still the same… our master shall be freed from its prison."

* * *

**3 days later**

**Tokyo General****Hospital******

"H-How is sh-she doctor?"

"She is still in critical condition, the wound she received was deeper than we thought and it punctured part of her lung. We are doing the best we can to save her life so please calm down."

The doctor left Kasumi standing in front of Akane's hospital room, Nodoka hugged the distraught Tendo girl in an attempt to comfort her. "She'll be fine Kasumi-chan, she's a strong girl… she'll pull through…"

_Ranma__ thought that Akane had died so he left the Saotome house; there were no traces of him anywhere since that day. Kasumi tried her best to stop the bleeding as soon as she could and Nodoka immediately called for an ambulance. Akane is currently in a coma-like state, there is no guarantee whether she would recover or not._

Kasumi cried even harder. "Oh Auntie! I can't stand it anymore… I don't want to see anyone getting hurt! I-I just can't take it anymore! I don't want to lose my family… I don't want to go through it again… it hurts so much…"

Nodoka cried along with her. _'Damn you Orochi… is this the misery you promised my tribe?! Damn you… damn you… haven't we suffered enough?! You already took my mother away from me now you're taking my baby as well?! Damn you!'_

"What happened…?" a rough, cold voice asked.

The two girls looked up and their eyes widened as they got a good look on the man. "You…"

* * *

**Saotome**** Home**

Ranma returned to his mother's home, he stood in the middle of the garden ruins once more, his eyes were back to their sad, tearful, blue hue, his hair was a mess and his wounds have not yet been treated although his Orochi heritage was slowly taking care of that. He looked at the bloodstained hand that pierced Akane's chest, tears slowly fell on it.

_'Akane… I'm so sorry… I could've stopped it but I didn't… I don't know what to think anymore. I can't control it after all; it's too much to bear alone… I craved for blood, I hunger for it… I can't deny that now. It's in my blood; I was born this way… a bloodthirsty monster.'_

He heard a couple of footsteps behind him; he turns and saw some girl trying to hold someone back from attacking him. His eyes widened slightly as the two faced him; the girl had a nervous smile while the man had a scowl on his face. 

"Ryoga…" 

* * *

**Tokyo****Airport******

"Ah! It feels good to be back here!"

Yashiro looked at the brown-haired boy oddly. "Eh? You've been here before? Why didn't you mention it until now?"

Chris looked sheepish. "Um… I forgot…? Yeah that's it! Eheheh…"

The blonde's eyebrow twitched for a brief moment, he then shook his head and began walking towards the airport exit. "I'll never understand you, kid." he muttered.

Shermie on the other hand, had a curious look on her face. "Wow! Chris, can you tell me more about Japan? Please? I'm just dying to know about the people here!"

Yashiro cut off Chris' reply. "Hey! I grew up here so you should ask me about this place!"

The twin ponytailed girl blinked at the statement while Chris had an irritating smirk on his face, not as good as the old Ranma but it'll do. "Ho-hum… someone seems to be jealous of little ol' me." He said innocently.

Yashiro blushed ever so slightly but managed to keep his cool. The blonde glared at Chris while the blue-eyed boy still had the annoying smirk on his face as if daring Yashiro to attack him. 

Shermie sighed. "Okay, okay, stop it boys. Remember, we still have a concert to perform. It's our chance to be known all over the world so let's not screw this chance of a lifetime alright?" She asked in an extremely calm tone. The two men flinched at the tone the red-head used; they hung their head low afterwards. 

The red-head's frown soon turned into a cheerful smile. "Now then… we still have a couple of weeks until we meet the managers and sponsors so… let's go sightseeing!" 

The two men could only groan in response.

* * *

**Kagura**** Home**

"Lady Chizuru, here are the names of the selected fighters." Reiko said as she handed the list to the priestess.

"Thank you Reiko." 

Reiko bowed before she stood behind the priestess. Chizuru was dresses in a casual business suit, she may be a priestess but she is also the owner of several successful business companies. She looked at the list and her eyes widened as she saw the name she thought she would never see there. "Impossible! I didn't send an invitation to him… who…? What?! They're the other sponsors?!" she yelled, causing a few of her servants outside the room to cringe.

"What is the problem my lady?" Reiko asked.

The dark-haired girl sighed; she rubbed her temples as she sat down. "This is not what I had in mind, with them participating behind the scenes; it could spell trouble for the entire tournament. Reiko, can you get the personal data of Saotome Ranma?"

"Right away my lady."

****

Name: Saotome Ranma

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Blood type: Human (AB) + Orochi (Unconfirmed)

Kin: Saotome Genma Wanted for various crimes all over Japan. 

       Saotome Nodoka (No maiden name) No data has been found.

Info: Resides at a local dojo in the Nerima Ward, he and a few others were called the Nerima Wrecking Crew by the residents for the destruction they cause everyday. His fighting style is called Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu, no other information regarding this art has been found. 

Other information: Thought to have died in battle somewhere in China a few months back. His look matches the description given by a local thug who turned himself in a couple of weeks ago. His eyes and hair were said to change colors from time to time and he was rumored to vanish into thin air in a split second, it is also rumored that he wields the Orochi magatama flame. 

****

"So they're going to use this information… I hope that he is not like them…" 

* * *

**One month later**

_A lot has happened this past __mont__h, though I'd like to forget most of it. Akane still hasn't regained consciousness but I really don't want to see her anymore, I have written everything I needed to tell to her in the letter I left for her at the Tendo Dojo. Kasumi was frightened by my presence every time I visited her sister, I really couldn't blame her… she saw a sadistic monster pierce her sister's chest. Nabiki is still in the hospital, she is still heavily bandaged from the burns and gashes I gave her… I really don't care what she thinks of me but if she pulls this stunt one more time I will not hesitate to attack her once more._

_Genma__… yeah, I don't refer to him as my father anymore… his answer a month ago decided that for me. He was sent to a hospital as well but when the doctors got a good look at his scrawny face, they refused to treat his injuries. They said that he stole a lot of medicine and medical supplies that caused the deaths of a lot of patients a few years ago. Mom was able to convince them to a certain degree though… Genma woke up but his spine has been permanently damaged, he can never move his body or his big mouth ever again… a vegetable as most doctors would call it._

_Soun__, the other pathetic excuse for a father, was the only one who stayed by Genma's side all __mont__h after recovering from his burns. The damned fool sulked and whined all __mont__h long, I even thought that ol' veggie was starting to get irritated by his friend's constant waterworks._

_The Kuno's were treated but soon as they did their samurai wannabee and crazed gymnast act, they were immediately sent to a psychiatric ward for examinations. I really don't know if I should pity them…_

_Ryoga__ and I 'talked' a __mont__h ago. I was surprised that he didn't yell his 'Ranma, prepare to die!' battle cry, instead he just punched me in the face. Other than that, we actually talked like normal people, like we always do back in junior high if food wasn't involved. He was the one that informed me that Akane was still alive. He said that Kasumi told him everything and he knew it was an accident, I still wondered why he hasn't attacked yet or jumped to conclusions like before, maybe it's because Akari's with him, I don't know. _

_He calmly declared that we should settle our fight once and for all but I refused, I didn't want it to happen again and I thought that this fight might cause it to happen once more. I offered him a few options and after a lot of arguments, we finally came to an understanding, we will finish it… in due time… _

_Mom kept asking me about my current condition, I told her what happened and why I brutally attacked Genma. She actually took her husband's condition rather well… meaning she ignored him all __mont__h, leaving him to the 'care' of the vengeful doctors and nurses. _

_After that incident, I felt… different. My mother said that I almost 'awakened'… whatever the hell that means, she also said that I should be back to my normal self because of Akane's interference but I don't think that I went back to my old self. I don't know how to explain it but I do know that I have changed… though I have yet to see if it is for better or for worse. _

His musings were cut short when he heard his mother's footsteps coming towards him.

"Son, this letter was sent to you."

"Huh? Me? Who could have…?" he wondered. He opened the letter and began to read it aloud. 

****

Mr. Ranma Saotome,

            We would like to inform you of the upcoming King of Fighters tournament that will take place in a couple of days. We know that you're probably thinking that it's pointless for you to partake in this tournament so we are offering you several conditions that would definitely interest you in joining. First, we are aware of your crimes in Osaka; those charges will be dropped if you accept this invitation. Second,we are aware of your heritage and we would like to see more of what happened last year for it attracted the worldwide audience even more. 

            Should you refuse the offer, you will leave us no other choice but to contact the authorities in regards to your current location. You are a criminal Saotome Ranma and you must be punished according to law, your friends and family will be arrested as well, we have footage on some of your fights with your group and the dangers you cause to the public is evident. The Nerima police may not do a thing about it but the rest of Japan will. 

As stated above, all of the charges will be dropped if you join the tournament. We hope you make the right choice in the matter so we can benefit from one another.

 ****

Ranma frowned as he finished reading the letter. "What invitation…? This is nothing more than blackmail…" His blood began to boil as he thought of the similarities of this method to Nabiki's. "Fine, I'd like to talk to these 'sponsors' in person. Wait… King of Fighters Tournament… oh, Mature and Vice." 

Nodoka had a puzzled expression when Ranma picked up the phone and called the number written on a piece of paper. _'Who are Vice and Mature? Why do I have the feeling that something big is going to happen soon?' _

* * *

**Osaka****: Hotel Room**

Mature and Vice were lounging around the hotel room, the blonde was reading yet another book while the red-head was reading a fashion magazine. The phone rang; Mature sighed and got up to see who's calling.

"Who could it be at this time of the day? Yes…? Huh? Ranma, is that you? Uhuh… we have invitations too… yes… no…? I see… well, see you at the tournament." 

Vice looked up from the magazine she's reading and smirked. "Your boyfriend?" she teased. 

Mature 'humphed' as she sat down on the sofa. "It's Ranma; he asked if we were invited to the King of Fighters tournament too. He's not looking forward to being in a group so he said he'll be entering as a single entry." She said with a shrug.

The red-head thought about it. "Hmmm… come to think of it, I don't think Iori will want to join any team considering what happened the last time…" She flinched as she recalled the incident. "Anyway, I guess we'll have to enter as single entries too huh?" Vice asked.

The blonde nodded. "Yes… by the way, are you fully recovered now? We don't know what will happen so we need all the help we can get. Our goal has not yet changed; we will fulfill it to the end." Mature said, her face turned serious.

Vice sobered up. "Yes, yes… I already recovered my powers from the time I erased that old geezer's memories. I couldn't use it last year but this year is going to be different." She replied, smirking a little as she thought of the chaos she could make with her technique (5).

"Good, I have a few new tricks of my own that I want to try out on a few specific people in the tournament." she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

The red-head looked at her partner. "It's the Kagura clan right?" She saw Mature nod in response. "I see… well, just don't get too carried away, our first priority is the revival of our Lord."  

"Don't worry, I won't."

* * *

**Tokyo**

"What do you mean it's been cancelled?!" Yashiro screamed in front of the stage manager's face.

"Um… the sponsors thought that the other band would attract more audiences and capture the talent scouts' interest because they're somewhat famous already. I-I really don't know anything else, honest!" 

Shermie couldn't take it anymore so she pried Yashiro's hands off of the manager's collar. "Now… who are they? Are they that big of a celebrity for you people to completely ignore us after asking us to come all the way here? It is our spot out there! This should have been CYS' time to be known but that's not going to happen now is it?! You can at least allow us to talk to them, we won't cause any further trouble, I promise."

Chris said nothing but his eyes have gone hard, his stare was completely fixed on the manager. The manager noticed the look; he gulped before nodding in defeat. "I think they are performing right now, you can wait for them to finish at the back."

"Thank you…" 

Yashiro and Shermie looked at Chris after he said that, there was a hidden meaning behind those words and if the two heard correctly, Chris will see to it to the end.

* * *

**Saotome**** Home**

"Well, I'm off…"

Nodoka watched as her son slowly vanish from her sight. "Ranma… what are you thinking right now? Do you believe in our clan? Do you still trust humans? Or have you shunned them from your heart completely?" 

Ranma on the other hand, had other things in mind. _'Hakkeshu… am I the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu of the sacred flame? I just don't know if I am… but I think that Mature and Vice can give me the answers that I need. I also recall seeing a cave… a cave marked by dragon heads and a door encircled by a single dragon statue… I don't know where it is but I must find it… and I will find it. I have to…'_

* * *

**Backstage**

"See ya later Yagami!"

"Yeah…"

Iori grabbed his guitar and was about to leave when he noticed three people blocking the exit. "Who the hell are you people? You better have a good reason for blocking my way." he demanded.

Chris approached the red-haired man and smiled innocently. "Oh let's see here… we were just the ones that should have performed out there instead of your band so you tell us." 

Yashiro walked up to Iori and grabbed him by the shirt. "Listen here pal, I don't know who you are but don't think you can get away with what you did to us! Payback's a bitch!" 

The blonde punched Iori in the face, Shermie gasped when the red-haired man smirked as the hit connected while Chris was intently watching the fight. 

"That's one powerful punch…" he said, wiping some of the blood from his mouth. "Here! Try mine!!!" 

And the battle ensued between the two, Yashiro overpowering Iori on several occasions but he was no match for the red-haired man's magatama no Orochi.

Yashiro's clothes were scorched and ripped, he was breathing heavily as well. "Dammit…"

Iori shook his head and began to walk away. "If you want to challenge me train some more… your pathetic like that. I hope I'll never see you again… weakling. Bah!"

Shermie immediately went to Yashiro's side while Chris looked to where Iori went, he smiled and his blue eyes unnoticeably took a violet hue for a brief moment before reverting back to its natural color…

* * *

(1) – Poison Snake Deep Hole Blow, almost the same as Geimon Tetsu Sen Shi but this one aims for the heart.

(2) – A hatred/anger-based ki blast. Don't have a name for it right now, running low on ideas at this point in time.

(3) – White Snake Venom Reliable Fist

(4) – Again…

(5) – Vice exhausted her powers just after messing with Saisyu's brain in '95 and she wasn't even near her full strength in '96 so this year is going to be interesting. What kind of power? Well… I can't tell you yet. ^^

**# # #**

**AN: **The first arc finally comes to a close, R&R please. The 'awakening' process, Kagura clan history and more secrets surrounding the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu shall be revealed in the second arc. I changed the CYS story…  

**What I did was delay the formation of the band (For potential matchup purposes); they have only participated in a few small concerts on a couple of countries. Then they got shunned in what was supposed to be the breakaway concert for their group (Talent scouts and a few well known managers in the music business were watching the concert), that alone would set anybody off. Then they got their ass handed to them by Iori in front of a few other music groups, thereby embarrassing themselves in public. I think that those incidents were more than enough motivation to get revenge on dog-boy (Sorry, couldn't resist ^^). 

The Nerima story has ended (Or has it?). There are a couple of unresolved events; Nabiki and her ways, Ukyou and Shampoo are still around along with a few other Ranma ½ characters (Yeah… expect to see some key KOF characters not shown in the original '97 tournament as well). 

I'm gonna finish the first chapter of my other fics first (They're almost done anyway), so till next time, Ja ne!

**Next Chapter Hakkeshu Arc:** **The Beginning of the End**

_"I want to finish our fight."_

_Ranma__ nodded. "Same here, I have improved a lot since the first time we met."_

_The red-haired man smiled. "So have I…"_


	11. Hakkeshu Arc: The Beginning of the End

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! *WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!* Ugh… shutting up now… oi… 

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 9: **The Beginning of the End**

* * *

**Osaka****, ****Japan******

A lone figure walked towards the Osaka stadium, he has blonde hair that was tied in a loose ponytail and his eyes were being covered by his hat. He smiled when he heard several familiar voices calling out his name.

"Yo Terry! Over here!"

"Bro! You finally arrived!"

He waved at the two men. "Hey guys, it's good to see you two again, Joe, Andy."

After their reunion, they sobered up and talked about last year's disastrous tournament along with the appearance of the Orochi clan. Terry frowned slightly when he heard from Andy that Geese might return this year along with his half-brother Krauser, perhaps for this Orochi power that has been acting up as of late.

"It doesn't matter whether they'd join this year or not. We'll just give our all in the fights." Terry said to the two.

Andy nodded. "Yes, though I hope that Mai hasn't done anything stupid."

Terry and Joe laughed and teased Andy about his on and off relationship with the bouncy kunoichi. Well, Joe did most of the teasing; Terry just smiled at the two as they fought it out with their fists.

* * *

King fumed, she just received a phone call that her supposed third member Kasumi Todoh can't join them because she wanted to search for her father. King understood the girl's actions but now she doesn't have a third member to enter the tournament, it's only her and the bouncy red-head kunoichi Mai Shiranui.

"Ne, King…? What will we do? Without a third member, we'll be automatically disqualified for the tournament!" the red-head whined. _'And I wanted to teach Andy a lesson too!'_

The blonde's eyebrow twitched. "I know that! I thought that the team was ready so I never really anticipated this kind of problem early on." she responded.

"Maybe I can be of some assistance…" a voice echoed through the entire area. 

Mai and King turned around and saw a dark-haired woman in a casual business suit. King studied the woman for a long time as if trying to gauge her fighting prowlice. Mai on the other hand, recognized the woman in front of her almost immediately. 

"Hey, you're Chizuru Kagura right? The main host for this year's King of Fighters tournament… what are you doing here?" Mai asked.

Chizuru bowed. "Yes, I am Chizuru Kagura. I heard that you are in need of a member, I would like to volunteer for that spot if it's alright with the two of you." 

Mai and King blinked at the proposal, they looked at each other and smiled.

"Welcome to the Women's Team Ms. Kagura!"

* * *

**Osaka Hotel Rooms **

Leona leaned against the wall with her arms crossed; she stares expressionlessly at the computer monitor together with her teammates for the tournament. 

"I want you three to observe the two Orochi clan members Mature and Vice, I do not want a repeat of last time where that bastard named Goenitz destroyed the arena, causing thousands of innocent bystanders to be killed. Mature and Vice worked with that man so they must be up to something this time. Keep a close eye on the two and the persons they are with, that is all."

The three of them saluted the man on the screen before they turned the monitor off. 

"Well, we have our orders so let's do it right this time." Clark started.

Ralph responded by grinning while Leona simply nodded to their team leader. Clark turned to Leona with a serious expression. "Leona, are you sure you're all right? You can sit this one out if you want, I can tell from the look on your face that you're having some doubts in this mission."

Leona stood up straight. "I wish to proceed with the mission, my personal feelings is of no concern."

Clark nodded. "That's good to hear. Come on, we still have to come up with a plan in regards to the two Orochi clan members."

* * *

Chris was panting heavily as he lay on the bed. Shermie was by his side, trying to see if the blue-eyed boy was alright. Yashiro was going through the King of Fighters invitations that Chris gave him.

"Of all the stupid… why didn't you tell me that you were going to steal these invitations in the first place?! I could've done it instead of you!" he yelled.

The brown-haired boy sat up. "Yes you could and be arrested in the process. You're not exactly the fast type Yashi-kun." He teased.

Yashiro's ire was building. "What… did… you… call… me…?"

"Yashi-kun! I think it suits you fine!" Chris said, smiling innocently at the irate blonde.

"I think so too! It's perfect for you, Yashi-kun!" Shermie added in.

The blonde dejectedly backed down. _'Nope… not crossing her… definitely not crossing her.'_ He thought while recalling the first time he ever crossed Shermie in one of her tantrums.

_Attention all King of fighters participants, please assemble at the __Osaka__ stadium for the official opening of the tournament. I repeat, please assemble at the __Osaka__ stadium for the official opening of the tournament. Attention all single entries, all single entries are asked to gather at the Hotel lobby for a few last minute announcements. That is all, thank you for your time._

Shermie smiled. "Well, I guess we should get going."

"Yeah but we should take the backdoor, we don't know if those guys gave up or not." Chris suggested.

Yashiro nodded as he opened the door. "Well, let's go. We'll show that bastard a thing or two."

* * *

**????**

Geese smiled as the announcer informed the fighters to gather inside the stadium. Krauser was by his side, shaking his head at his half-brother's antics.

"You surprise me yet again, Geese. You couldn't claim your title as the host so you settled to being a sponsor for this year's tournament. May I ask what made you do such a thing?" he inquired.

Geese chuckled. "I found out that being a sponsor has its advantages as well. For example… we can 'control' our matches in any way we want, those fools are so easy to manipulate." 

Krauser nodded. "Yes, we came here to see this… Ranma Saotome in action. If your underlings' reports were true, then I cannot wait to try him out myself. By the way, I couldn't help but notice that we are short one person, what happened to that Mr. Big anyway?" he calmly asked.

The blonde man sobered up. "That bald fool? We do not need such weaklings so it's just the two of us for the Boss Team. Don't worry, that's why I implemented the two man group for this tournament."

Krauser looked at Geese as if he has lost his mind. "Worried? Me? What ever gave you that idea brother? I can defeat those weaklings by myself if need be."

Geese just smiled. "You'll get your chance… we both will." He cryptically replied.

* * *

**Hotel Lobby**

Ranma watched as a few teams made their way outside the hotel and onto the stadium, he blinked as he noticed that Leona was staring at him with an expressionless face. He nods to her and she responded with a nod of her own before she joined her teammates. _'I remember her now… Leona-chan. I don't know why but I can recall all of my memories since childhood very clearly after that incident.'_

The ponytailed boy froze when he sensed a very familiar aura, an aura full of hatred and anger towards a specific person, an aura that belongs to a man he has yet to beat. True enough, a red-haired man stepped into view. The man paused as his eyes met Ranma's; he smirked as he slowly approached the Orochi half-breed.

"You…" Ranma started.

"I want to finish our fight." Iori said bluntly.

Ranma nodded. "Same here… I have improved a lot since the first time we met."

The red-haired man smiled. "So have I."

No words were said after that 'greeting', both of them immediately went into their own fighting stances as they distance themselves from one another. The hotel manager fainted when he thought about the property damage this would cause while the rest of the staff urged the two warriors to fight it out then and there. The two of them called out their purple flames from their right hand but Iori noticed that something was off, Ranma's flame was slowly encircling his arm, like some sort of flaming snake. Iori smiled, things really have changed since their last meeting.

"My, my, my, you two really can't wait to rip each other's heads off."

Both fighters clasped their right hands to snuff out the flames; they then turned towards the source of the voice. Ranma's cold stare softened as he saw Vice and Mature. Iori on the other hand, scoffed at the two for ruining the fight. 

Mature walked up to Ranma and studied him a bit. _'No doubt about it… that flame he has is of the Orochi clan, the sacred flame… so he's really one of us…' _She blinked when she noticed Ranma's scrutinizing gaze towards them.

"Anything we can do for you, ladies?" Ranma asked tightly.

Vice shrugged. "Nothing much, this IS the place where all single entries were supposed to meet you know." she nonchalantly said to the two, somewhat pissed Orochi warriors. 

"Che… what a nuisance." Iori retorted.

Mature tapped Ranma lightly on the shoulders. "Haven't seen you in weeks but I can see that you have… changed, especially that flame of yours."

Ranma caught on. "We'll talk about it later. Hey, I thought that you'd have your own team by now."

Vice and Mature shrugged in perfect sync. "We don't have a third member so we decided to enter as single entries as well. I wonder what the sponsors are up to this time. Gathering all single entries in one area could be… trouble, like the two of you… Ranma and Iori."

Both men scoffed at that remark. The two women would have said more if they hadn't noticed a man walking towards them.

"Ah… good! You're all here! Good, that would make my job easier."

The man gulped as he noticed the looks on their faces, he saw the four Orochi warriors motioned for him to proceed with the announcement.

"I was sent here to tell all of you that single entries are not allowed anymore in the tournament." He paused and waited for their reaction, he raised an eyebrow at the calm and collective attitude of the four. "Ahem, you were asked to gather here because you must form a group between the four of you." 

"WHAT?!" The four shouted angrily.

The man held his hands up. "Please calm down! That's why you were gathered here, you are required to group yourselves either by three's or two's. It's all up to all of you." 

Ranma was clenching his fists, Iori was mumbling curses while Vice and Mature took a quick glance towards one another before nodding in agreement.

"Ja… I'll go with Iori then…" Vice casually said.

Mature clung onto Ranma's arm. "I guess I'm on Ranma's team."

"Fine! Just stay out of my way!!!" Iori growled out before walking away.

"Sigh… I guess I have no choice…" Ranma answered dejectedly.

* * *

**Osaka**** Stadium**

A huge crowd was gathered around the stadium, each one of them cheering for their favorite fighters and the noise they were making was deafening. Every fighter thought that it would take an army to quiet this crowd down but they were proven wrong when a teenage dark-haired girl went up the stage and held her arm up for a few minutes, the crowd went silent afterwards.

"A Yata technique…" Mature said through clenched teeth.

"Welcome everyone to the King of Fighters '97, I am here on behalf of the main host of the tournament, my name is Reiko Iwasaki. We thank you for your continuous support, the tournament is now being broadcast worldwide and it's all thanks to you. The fights will take place at various locations all over the world: America, England, Korea and China to name a few."

The crowd whispered amongst themselves while the fighters stayed at their specific places at the back of the stadium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there has been a change in the rules of the tournament. It was required that three people were needed for a team to enter the King of Fighters, it was also required that all team members must be present before their match starts or else their team is disqualified and finally, the fights take place in a one on one matches where interference from a member shall result to a disqualification. 

These rules are gone now, the new rules state that a team may consist of a minimum of two members; single entries are not allowed in the tournament from now on. As for the fights themselves, they will not be a one on one match. Instead, they will be a simultaneous match, in which all fighters from opposing sides will duke it out at the same time in the arena. It may be a three on three match, a three on two match or a two on two tag team match. The match will start even if the team is missing a member.

The only way to advance in the tournament is when all of the opposing team members either gives up, be rendered unconscious or incapacitated. I repeat, all of the opposing team members must either admit defeat or be seriously injured in order to win the bout."

The crowds gasped in shock, then cheered like crazy at the announcement while most of the fighters looked at their teammates before contemplating on what they've heard… simultaneous team vs. team instead of a one on one best of three match. Terry, Andy and Joe all tensed, if the one responsible for those new rules was the one they're thinking of… 

* * *

Reiko noticed the tension in the air so she focused her powers once more to try and subdue any riots that might take place. "Furthermore, there may be some other rule changes as the tournament progresses so please keep that in mind. We thank you for bearing with us. Moving on, we would like to proceed with the introduction of the fighters for the 1997 King of Fighters Tournament!"

"Ladies and gentlemen please welcome, the Art of Fighting Team! Team leader Ryo Sakazaki and his members, Robert Garcia and Yuri Sakazaki!"

A couple of fans cheered them on but most of the crowd blatantly ignored the group.

"Coming all the way from Korea… the fighters of justice? The Korea Team! Team leader Kim Kaphan and his two members, Choi Bounge and Chang Koehan!"

A collection of boos and cheers welcomed the three fighters. Kim just shrugged at the audience, Chang just picked his nose and Choi simply played with his claws.

"One of the members of this team is well known in the music business, ladies and gentlemen… the Psycho Soldier Team! Team leader Chin Gentsai and his two members, Sie Kensou and your very own… Athena Asamiya!" 

The fans of Athena roared. The sound was so deafening that everyone thought that the building might collapse at any minute. Kyo whistled at the applause Athena was getting while Ranma had a puzzled look on his face. _'What's so special about a teenage girl?'_

"From their base at Brazil, may I present to you the Ikari Team! Their team leader Clark Steel along with his members, Ralf Jones and Leona Heidern!"

The three Ikari mercenaries stepped into view; Ralf and Clark were talking to themselves while Leona had a distant look in her eyes as if she was trying to recall more memories from the past.

Reiko coughed. "This team has been around for years, they are the Lonely Wolves Team! The famous kick boxer, Joe Higashi! The younger of the two Bogard siblings… Andy Bogard! And their team leader: Terry Bogard!" 

A nice round of applause welcomed the three legends, Joe hollered at the crowd in a most embarrassing fashion, Andy got a sinking feeling that Mai was watching him somewhere and Terry just smiled under his hat.

"Here is the first of a number of new teams this year. Give a round of applause to the Special Team!"

* * *

Andy frowned as the Special Team was introduced. "They're working for Geese."

Terry glanced at his brother for a minute before focusing back to the Special Team. _'Billy's there so that's a no brainer, Ryuji Yamazaki and Blue Mary… I hope I can get a chance to face them.'_

Yamazaki was grinning ear to ear as he played with his knife. Blue Mary had her arms crossed and she had a somewhat thoughtful look while she was being introduced.

"Yamazaki… Yamazaki… where have I heard that name before…?" Ranma asked himself. Then it hit him…

//Flash//

"No, we don't know any Genma Saotome. We've come here on orders from our boss." A goon said.

"Oh? And who may I ask is this 'boss' of yours?" the ponytailed boy asked.

Another goon stepped up. "Our boss is none other than Yamazaki, and we are from his gang." 

//Flash//

Ranma's face hardened. "That's Yamazaki huh? I'd like to have a very long talk with him soon."

* * *

"The next team needs no introduction; they have won the last three King of Fighters Tournaments in spectacular fashion. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the Hero Team!"

The crowd roared louder than ever before, some of the fighters had to cover their ears from the thunderous cheers from the fans.

"Goro Daimon!"

"Benimaru Nikaido!"

"And last but not the least. The team leader of the group, Kyo Kusanagi!"

Goro smiled and waved at the crowd, Benimaru brushed his hair and pointed towards the audience while Kyo had an arrogant smirk on as he looked at his fans from the stage.

Iori had his head down as Kyo was being introduced; he suddenly starts to laugh quietly. His chilling laughter got louder and louder until it caught the attention of those people around him. They all backed away from the red-haired man in fear of what happened last time around, even his unwanted partner Vice.

Vice gulped. "Um, Iori…? Are you alright? No… Riot of Blood forming yet?"

"Hmm… hmm… hmm… couldn't be better. Kusanagi… I will end your life here…" he muttered aloud, making everyone that heard that statement cringe.

"Uh… yeah, you do that…" Vice said to the preoccupied Orochi warrior.

* * *

"The next team had a last minute member change, may I present to you the Women's Team! Team leader King and her two members, Mai Shiranui and the main host for this year's tournament, Chizuru Kagura!" 

The men went ballistic and almost tore down the barricades around the stage. Most of the female fans frowned for different reasons: for making their boyfriends ignore them and for having much better looking bodies than them. The team's reaction varied. King just crossed her arms, Mai waved at the crowd causing her breast to sway as well while Chizuru stood ramrod straight with her eyes closed, searching for people with Orochi blood in the area.

Ranma glanced at his partner, who was glaring at the Kagura priestess as if she was the most horrible living thing that ever walked the face of the earth. Sighing, Ranma placed a hand on the enraged blonde's shoulder, making her calm down for the time being."I don't know what went on between you two but you should have better control over yourself Mature." He calmly said to the blonde.

Mature nodded but the glare was still there. Ranma just shrugged at the scene. _'Oh well, at least I tried.'_

* * *

Reiko looked at the piece of paper in her hands and couldn't help but wonder. _'Chris, Yashiro… and Shermie? Ah! It's the music band I saw on TV once! Why would they join a fighting tournament?' _She got back into reality when one of the sponsors tapped her back and motioned for her to continue.

"Oh, pardon me… next to be introduced is another new team this year, the New Face Team!"

The crowd looked at one another, not knowing what to make of this.

"The Team leader: Yashiro Nanakase! His team members, Chris and Shermie!"

The crowd had mixed reactions during the team's introduction. The male half whistled, screamed and cheered the twin ponytailed woman while the female half was divided; some were cheering for Yashiro while the rest were commenting on how cute Chris was which, of course, caused the brown-haired boy to give the death glare to them.

_'So those idiots were serious after all.' _Iori thought with a smile. "Looks like I'm going to enjoy myself this time… Kusanagi… and Saotome… hmm, hmm, hmm…" he mumbled to himself.

"What the hell is he doing here?!"__

Everyone in the back, which were Iori and Vice along with Mature all looked at the shocked Orochi half-breed with raised eyebrows. Ranma was too busy glaring at the brown-haired boy that was standing on the stage to notice these reactions.

Mature decided to take the initiative. "Ara? Do you know them Ranma?"

Ranma's hand twitched. "Yes, he is… sort of… my, err… student."

Vice was about to ask more but she stopped when Iori's manic laughter acted up once more. Mature just frowns in disgust while Ranma was starting to wonder if Iori had a few screws loose after all. "What's so funny Yagami?" the three asked in chorus.

The red-haired man just grinned. "Your student Saotome? If I'd have known you were the one that taught that brat how to fight then I would've challenged him the first time we met. I thrashed one of them a while back, a total weakling so I ignored him and the other one." 

Ranma's face hardened. "So you're saying that you were the one responsible for him being here?" he asked tightly, clenching his fists in the process.

Iori understood the tone the ponytailed man used. He smiled and summoned his purple magatama. "So what if I am? What are you going to do about it Saotome?" he taunted.

The Orochi half-breed's eyes flashed as he summoned his sacred flame, the flames took the form of a serpent before it encircled his right arm. Mature was too busy observing the sacred flame to stop the two so Vice decided to step in.

"Boys…" Vice started. "… you can settle your disputes later. Iori, were up!"

* * *

Reiko took one glance at the paper and shook her head in disbelief. _'Oh dear… it's like what lady Chizuru said.' _"The next team is composed of only two members… they are… oh dear… the Yagami Team!"

The crowd all froze, the incident last year was still fresh in their minds. Reiko was in awe that a single name can do what her powers cannot fully perform, which is to shut the crowd up to the last fan.

"Returning from last year's tournament… Vice!"

The crowd got out of their stupor and cheered the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu member, Vice complied with a seductive wink and smile to the audience that caused them to be riled up even more.  

"And also from this same team, Iori Yagami!"

The people of Osaka started to boo the red-haired warrior, mostly because of the incident involving his first fight with Ranma, which destroyed a lot of buildings due to their flames combined with Ranma's Hiryu Shoten Ha. The others were still trying to get the image of Riot of Blood Iori out of their minds.

Iori and Kyo locked gazes as the red-haired man walked up to the stage. The Kusanagi heir glared at the somewhat tolerable smirk that was plastered on Iori's face. On the Women's Team, Chizuru watched with a frown as former Shingi Trioca members fought it out in a stare down.

* * *

"Oh… Mr. Ranma…?" she whispered to herself, a faint blush formed on her face. "The second to the last team to be introduced, another new team for this year's tournament… ladies and gentlemen please welcome the Hakkeshu Team!"

Ranma turned towards his partner. "Hakkeshu Team?" 

Mature shrugged. "You did say to leave the team name up to me. I did it because that's what you are right? You're from our clan… our Orochi clan. Isn't that right, Ranma?"

Silence was Ranma's answer to that question.

"Coming back from last year's tournament, former Yagami Team member… Mature!"

The male half of the crowd cheered (1) for the beautiful blonde while the female half were staring at the hunk next to her. Mature ignored the praises and kept her eyes on Chizuru, who was busy staring at both Kusanagi and Yagami. 

"A new fighter coming from Tokyo, Ranma Saotome!"

There was a mixed reaction from the crowd. A few were silent, not really knowing who Ranma is, the females cheered him on while the others started to boo Ranma when they recognized the other one who leveled a very large business area right here in Osaka. The Orochi-half breed took the taunts and insults in stride while Mature looked amused at the whole thing.

"My, aren't we popular?" 

"Feh…"

* * *

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"

Yashiro and Shermie blinked at the sudden outburst of their teammate. Chris was currently on the floor, frantically pointing to his sensei. He gulped when he noticed the cold stare Ranma was giving him; he knew then and there that he's not going to get out of this one without some bodily harm. Meanwhile, Mature noticed that Chizuru looked like she was eyeing the two of them cautiously so she responded with a vicious glare towards the priestess.

Chizuru didn't even flinch at the glare the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu member made. _'I know your plan is to revive the eight headed demon just like Goenitz but the seal isn't here so why are the two of you still in this tournament? Saotome, are you working with them as well…?'_

* * *

"And now the last team to enter the tournament, they are also one of the sponsors for this year… um… ladies and gentlemen, the Boss Team!"

The audience shut up, some were afraid to boo while the rest doesn't have the courage to do anything at the moment.

"They are… Wolfgang Krauser and Geese Howard!"

Terry and Andy quickly turned to the lighted area and soon enough, a blonde wearing a hakama and a tall, blue-haired man wearing a unique armor stepped into the area. 

"Geese…" Terry muttered under his breath.

Both brothers looked at the blonde man, only to find out that Geese wasn't staring back at them like he usually does. Instead, he was staring at the new kid, Saotome Ranma with a smirk. Krauser was also looking at the Orochi half-breed; interest can be seen in his eyes. 

Ranma's eyes narrowed at the stares he was getting from the two. He could tell that they're powerful, perhaps even more so when they are trying so hard to mask their aura like that. 

Terry was curious as to what was so interesting in the new kid so he decided to study the ponytailed boy. His eyes widened as he got a good look at the boy's aura. _'It's huge but… unfocused (2). I don't think he knows how to control half of this power yet but when he does…' _The ponytailed blonde left the thought unfinished; he was more concerned whether or not he can match Ranma when the boy reaches his full potential. __

* * *

**Up above the stadium**

"Yes… the targets are in sight. Understood… my mission is clear: to monitor the targets named Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami throughout the tournament. Yes… over and out." the figure replied through the radio.

Said figure stepped into a lighted area and it was revealed to be a woman, with long, curly dark hair. She was wearing a skin tight black suit and was carrying a small sidearm. "Our time shall come soon."

* * *

Just across the woman's position, a young man with white hair that covers half of his face was watching the proceedings with a smirk. He was wearing a custom made red suit and baggy red pants. He took one glance at the only other person atop the stadium before chuckling to himself.

"I did not expect this turn of events… hmm… no matter, I will still trust that woman's so-called prophecy… hahaha…" he said to himself. He held out his left hand and soon something green can be seen flickering from it. 

The white-haired boy grinned as he clasped his hand. "This tournament just got interesting."

* * *

(1) - The crowd doesn't know anything about Orochi or his Hakketsu Shuu yet except for what they saw at last year's tournament.

(2) - Ranma's power is chaotic and unfocused after his supposed awakening, he has to train hard once more to gain more control over that power of his… especially the abilities of the sacred flame.

**# # #**

**AN:** Well, this is merely an introduction of the characters and their teams along with the 'watchers'. If you figured out who they are, then all the better.

As for the tournament rules, I used the KOF 2003 tag system with a couple of tweaks here and there. I did this because the typical KOF one on one fights have been done to death (Mostly by Rippen and Red Priest) and if I do that as well, it will become boring as the tourney advances (especially if the matches have been done before). I thought that a team match would create a number of possibilities during each of the fights, making a team work together certainly removes the mismatch of some fights in single competition, I just hope I can correctly pull it off.

*There will still be one on one matches, it's just not that often now (I got several hardcore, old school KOF fans breathing down my neck already for doing this ^^;). Don't expect the fighters to stick with their '97 moves for long considering a few fighters have already made some… improvements in their techniques.

Please tell me what you think of this, thanks. 'till next time, ja ne!

**Next Chapter Blue Eyes Blues**

_Yagami__ Team vs. Psycho Soldier Team; Hero Team vs. __Korea__ Team.__ Iori finally gets to demonstrate his new skills, Chris is up to his old tricks again, which annoys Ranma to no end and Shermie finally meets our favorite Orochi half-breed._


	12. Blue Eyes Blues

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! *WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!* Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 10: **Blue Eyes Blues**

* * *

_"We shall now begin the 1997 King of Fighters Tournament! The first bout: The Yagami Team vs. the Psycho Soldier Team! Will the fighters please step into the arena…"_

Vice and Iori stepped up into the arena along with their opponents. Iori was calmly staring at Athena for some strange reason while Vice just smiled at the rest of the Psycho Soldier Team.

_"Match… START!!!"_

Athena and Kensou immediately ran around the red-haired man in a circular pattern whilst Vice lured the old man Chin away from the two teenagers. Iori casually stood there with his eyes closed; Kensou clenched his teeth in anger at the early dismissal that the Orochi warrior was giving them. The dark-haired boy planted his feet on the ground before he leapt towards Iori with a straight punch and Athena went behind Iori as she cupped her hands to concentrate her energy.

"Psycho Ball!" she shouted as a ball of energy surged towards Iori.

Iori's eyes snapped open, he grabbed Kensou's face as soon as he was in range and used the boy's body as a shield against Athena's projectile. The dark-haired boy screamed as the blast hit and to make it even worse, Iori slammed his head onto the ground. Athena teleported right beside the red-haired man but she backed away when Iori tried to reach for her head as well. That distraction was more than enough for Kensou to break free of the hold and then he used his legs to deliver an upward kick that connected to Iori's face.

* * *

Vice winced as she watched the scene with Iori and the two psycho kids. "Ouch! Now that had to hurt!" she exclaimed. She chuckled slightly before focusing back towards her opponent, who was currently dead drunk as he was sprawled on the floor. "How amusing… shall we fight?"

The red-head slowly approached the old man; she then stopped right beside Chin's head. She had a vicious gleam in her eyes as she attempted a foot stomp on the old man's head. Chin rolled backwards, barely avoiding the red-head's attack. Vice was quicker though, she managed to grab the old man by the shirt. 

"Tanoshii, ne?! (1)" she shouted in glee as she dragged the old man across the floor. She threw Chin up in the air and then she followed it up by grabbing the man's waist and performing an airborne powerbomb. The impact of that attack formed a large crater on the ground; Vice stood up and chuckled at the old man. "Anmari bakarashii kara!!! (2)" she taunted. 

Chin managed to do a backward roll despite his injuries. Vice tried to run after him but Chin blew fire from his mouth that forced the red-head to jump out of the way. Chin stopped the attack a few moments later, his eyebrows furrowed when he felt someone grab his leg. "Fall!"

The old man was flung to the other side; Vice followed it up with a running punch to the chest that caused Chin to be hurled back even farther. The red-head ran towards the old man, she was caught by surprise when Chin used his sake bottle to strike her face. 

Vice placed a hand on her cheek before she scowled viciously at the drunken old man; her anger forced her to charge at him recklessly. This act allowed Chin the opportunity to strike, he blew yet another set of flames from his mouth that hit home. 

The crowd gasped as they thought the worst for the Hakkeshu member. Chin was already celebrating as the flames started to die down but it was short lived when no one was found there. They were then treated to a light show when a pillar of violet light appeared and a transparent skull surged upwards before it dissipated.

Vice laughed as she recovered from the attack, her clothes were scorched a little but that's about it. "Hahahahaha… Geezer, you don't know the powers that you're messing with. I guess I should take this fight a little more seriously… we wouldn't want you to suffer when you die, now would we?" she laughed out.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

**City Outskirts**

"I knew I'd find you here!" Chris exclaimed. He blinked when the ponytailed boy failed to respond, Ranma just sat under a tree and was seemingly in deep thought.

Chris waved a hand in front of the ponytailed boy but Ranma didn't even blink. Chris observed his sensei a little bit more before he shrugged his shoulders and decided to sit by the ponytailed boy's side. He looked towards the direction Ranma was staring at and he saw a small grassy hill with a lone tree planted at the top of it. Both blue-eyed boys sat in silence under the tree. 

Ranma broke that silence with a hard smack to Chris' head. "Idiot! You're not a fighter and so are your other companions! What the hell were you thinking anyway? Are you trying to get revenge on Yagami for beating one of you huh? Well?" he asked angrily, not minding at all that the one he was talking to was currently seeing stars.

Chris got another smack on the head before he sobered up. "Nice way to say hello Ranma." he said grumpily. "So… I take it that you've heard this story from someone?"

"Yeah, I heard it from the same man that beat one of your friends up." He turned to face the wide-eyed Chris. "I fought him once and it ain't no picnic Chris, the fight ended up in a draw so I suggest you think about it a bit more." He told the smaller blue-eyed boy.

The brown-haired boy pondered about it for a just a second before he grinned at his master. "Then you could just train me when we don't have any fights for the tournament!" he replied cheerfully. "Hmm… I think that Shermie would like to learn too so I guess I'll introduce her to you very soon but I don't think that poor Yashi-kun would like to do this, he's to prideful for his own good."

Ranma grabbed Chris by the shirt. "Weren't you listening to a word I said?! And NO! I am not going to train you any further, you should just walk away from the tournament Chris and I most certainly will not teach my version of Anything Goes to your teammates! Nope, not in a million years!" he bellowed. 

"Geez, what got into you Ranma? You're acting like a different person from the last time I saw you." The brown-haired boy mumbled out.

That response caused Ranma to back down. _'Different? Damn… I guess I truly have changed.'_ "Feh… fine, see if I care!" he said as he crossed his arms.__

Chris brightened up. "So… you'll teach us?" he asked. He then saw a small nod from his master, Chris squealed in delight at the news. "Cool! When do we start?"

It's Ranma's turn to be slightly unnerved. "Now you're the one acting strange, what's with the bubbly attitude all of a sudden? For that matter, where did my sarcastic student go to anyway?" 

The brown-haired boy shrugged. "I guess being around Shermie kind of gotten to me a little bit. In case you were wondering… the sarcastic boy is still here, only a little happier than usual."

"You seem to be doing much better now with your friends, I can tell that you care for them greatly." He finished sadly. _'Friends… I guess I have a few but…'_

Chris raised an eyebrow. "What about you? You and that blonde seemed to get along well on the stage earlier and she is your teammate… don't tell me…!" he gasped. "… is she your girlfriend?!" 

"She is not!" The older blue-eyed boy countered.

Ranma's student wasn't buying it though. He grinned at the fuming ponytailed boy. "I can see it in your eyes! She is your girlfriend! Ooohh… is that a blush?"

"For the last time she is not my girlfriend!"

"Is too!"

"IS NOT!"

* * *

**Osaka**** Stadium**

Iori's head jerked up when the kick connected. Shingo rolled to the side to distance himself from the Orochi warrior while Athena jumped up in the air and proceeded to concentrate her energy once more.

"Phoenix Arrow!" Athena shouted as she performed a diagonal rolling attack to Iori's back. She finished the move with a hard kick to the back of Iori's knee causing him to lose his balance. Shingo continued the assault with a series of lefts and rights to Iori's face, he finished it up with a running punch that seemed to have knocked Iori out.

Iori fell to the ground hard, Athena and Kensou cautiously walked towards their downed opponent. The red-haired man had his eyes closed and a little blood was trickling down his mouth. Kensou was already thinking that their team won while Athena had a sad look on her face. She was about to kneel beside the red-haired man when purple flames surrounded both teenagers.

"Raku ni wa shinenzou! (3)" Iori yelled as the move connected, paralyzing both Athena and Kensou in place. Iori lunged towards Kensou; he grabbed the boy's head and slammed it to the ground. He followed it up with a weak uppercut motion coupled with wave of purple flames that sent the boy flying in the air. 

"It's not over yet!" The red-haired man shouted as he summoned his purple flames from both his hands, he arched his body back before he released his flames to the ground. A pillar of flames burst forth like a geyser, engulfing the already burnt boy. Kensou screamed one last time before he fell unconscious as he crashed to the ground. 

Iori didn't even waste any time as he immediately turned around and faced the still frozen Athena. He grabbed the girl by her neck and he slowly lifted her off of the ground. "You… you messed with my mind a year ago right? I did recall saying that I'd pay you back… (4)" he evenly said. 

Athena struggled to pry herself from Iori's grip but the red-haired man just tightened his hold every time she did so. "I… what I saw was a boy crying… crying out for help… any kind… of… help. You're lonely… aren't you…? I saw it in that boy's eyes…" she managed to squeak out in response.

The red-haired man's eyes hardened. "Lonely? You… do you have any idea what you're talking about? Do you even know how it feels to be tortured everyday of your life?! Hell no! So how can you understand anything from just prying my mind?!"

The purple-haired girl was about to respond when Iori chose to end the match right then and there. He released his grip and began to rip into Athena's body with his sharp fingers. The young girl screamed as her body was slowly being covered in cuts and slashes, blood was flying everywhere and Iori was just smiling with his teeth bared at the entire scene. "Cry! Scream! Then… DIE!!!"

He followed it up by clamping his hands on the girl's head and then he summoned his flames in small bursts multiple times. Iori looked at Athena one last time before he finished it off with a large flame burst. Athena fell lifelessly to the ground; she let off a small whimper before she finally lost consciousness. Iori soon hunched over as he started to laugh quietly…

"Hm hm hm hm… heh heh heh heh… Hah! Hah! Hah! Hah!"

The crowd started to boo the red-haired man; some of them even threw various items at the arena in an attempt to hit Iori. The Orochi warrior ignored the curses and promises of vengeance as he spat some blood out before he wiped his mouth with his shirt. "Bah! What the hell do all of you know?!" 

"What took you so long?"

* * *

Iori tilted his head to the side and saw a smirking Vice standing beside her opponent Chin, who was currently in no condition to fight… perhaps for a very long time. The old man's eyes had gone blank, tears were falling from his eyes and drool was coming out of his mouth as he mumbled gibberish every now and then.

"What did you do to him?" Iori asked, intrigued at the way Vice handled her opponent.

Vice shrugged. "Oh… nothing much, I just wanted to see if I'm back at full strength. I guess I'm okay now, as for him… well… I merely gave him a quick summary of his life." she answered in a cryptic manner.

Iori scoffed at her reply before he turned around and walked away. Vice smiled at Iori's attitude, she patted the messed up Chin on the head before she followed the red-haired man out of the arena.

_"Th-the winner of the match… the Yagami Team!"___

* * *

Reiko announced the winner of the match with a little bit of fear from what she just witnessed. She jumped up from her seat as she felt someone grab her shoulder; she turned around to get a good look at the person. "Oh! Chizuru-sama, please don't scare me like that my lady." she said as she sighed in relief.

Chizuru smiled at her loyal servant and childhood friend. "I'm sorry about that but didn't I tell you to skip the formalities when we are not in the presence of the other Kagura clan members Reiko-chan?"

The dark-haired teen nodded sheepishly. "My apologies my la… um… Chizuru-oneechan, I kind of gotten used to calling you by that name." she reasoned out.

The Kagura priestess sighed; she sat on a chair next to her friend as they await the next bout to take place. _'So far the rest of the Kagura clan has set up fake seals all over __Japan__ and to a few chosen locations around the world… that should confuse the Orochi clan for a little while. Hakkeshu Team… why so blunt in naming their team like that? Are they that confident in their powers this time around?'_

Reiko blinked when she saw her 'big sister' frown as she sat down. "Chizuru-oneechan?" she hesitantly asked.

Chizuru snapped out of her musings and turned towards Reiko. "Yes Reiko-chan, what is it?"

The teen smiled at the priestess. "Please do not think too much about it for now, it will only lead to frustration in the end oneechan. I'm sure Maki-oneechan wouldn't like that to happen to you too."

The priestess blinked before she began to laugh softly. "Hm, hm… you're right, if she were still here… she'd scold me until her voice breaks. Thank you Reiko-chan, I'll try not to worry too much."

Reiko's smile widened before she heard the sound indicating that the start of the second bout. "Oh! The fighters are here already? Oh dear, *ahem* I… um…"

* * *

_"The second bout: The Hero Team vs. the __Korea__ Team!"_

Goro and Benimaru calmly walked up to the arena while Kyo seemed hesitant to participate in his team's match. He had his head down as he followed his teammates and he frowned as he recalled Iori's match a few minutes ago. _'He's gotten stronger while I… no… I won't accept that. I have to train harder…'_

Kim bowed in respect to his opponents and both of Kyo's teammates did the same as well. 

_"Match… START!!!"_

Chang and Choi moved to the side with Benimaru and Goro hot on their tail while Kyo still has his head down as he was facing Kim. Chang planted his feet on the floor as he swung his iron ball towards the charging duo, Benimaru nimbly evaded it but Goro couldn't quite make it. 

"Gah!" Goro gasped out as he tried to catch the ball with his hands instead. He managed to reduce the impact but the ball still hit his chest area, blood spewed out of his mouth but he quickly recovered from the attack and pulled the ball with all his might. Chang struggled in keeping his grip with the chains attached to the iron ball; both giants were at a stalemate so their partners took over from there.

Choi jumped from Chang's back and he dove for Goro with his arms and claws stretched out. He was about to stab the man when his path was suddenly blocked by a circular lighting attack. Benimaru quickly kicked Choi to change his trajectory.

Benimaru leapt at the small man. "Raijin ken!" 

The small man rolled backwards to avoid the circular lightning attack, he shouted nonsense before doing a rolling attack to Benimaru. The blonde man noticed that Choi rolled past him; he looked down… only to see the small man stab him in the butt. Benimaru screamed but quickly did a one-hand spinning top that slapped Choi silly. "It's over… Rai Kou Ken!!!"

Choi shrieked as Benimaru continued the lightning attack several seconds longer than usual. The blonde finally released the attack; the small man slumped on the ground. Benimaru checked his opponent before dusting himself off. "Yare, yare…" he said, brushing his hair slowly.

Meanwhile, Goro released his hold on the iron ball causing Chang to fall to the ground hard. Chang grabbed the chains and slowly spun it above him, Daimon lunged at his opponent with clenched teeth and he deflected the spinning iron ball with both of his hands. Chang was about to do a shoulder tackle until he noticed that Goro was smiling, his eyes widened when he received one helluva electric shock. His body shook for a few more minutes even after Benimaru stopped his offense.

Daimon went for the finish when he did a couple of body slams and one last backdrop to the huge man. "That takes care of that!"

"Shall we help him?" Benimaru asked, looking at their leader.

Goro shook his head. "Nah, he can do that on his own. I think he has a lot on his mind right now."

* * *

**Osaka Hotel**

"For the last friggin time, she is not!"

Chris just threw his arms in the air. "Hai, Hai, fine. Whatever you say sensei!"

Ranma rubbed his temples as they headed upstairs to their hotel rooms. "So? What are you gonna do now? Why aren't you watching the matches anyway? Shouldn't you be at the stadium studying Yagami's moves?"

The younger blue-eyed boy shrugged. "Yashi-kun is taking care of that, he has this revenge thing going on in his mind right now and I wouldn't want to tick him off."

"Oh! Chris! Perfect timing, I want to ask you something… who's this?" a familiar French woman asked.

Chris smiled. "Hi Shermie! This is my master in martial arts, Ranma Saotome. Guess what? He wants to teach the three of us if you and Yashi-kun feel like it and he's going to train me the advance forms too!"

_'He's cute but why does he seem so familiar?' _"Hi, I'm Shermie. It's nice to meet you Ranma." The twin ponytailed woman greeted Ranma with a smile of her own.

Ranma nodded. "Nice to *splash!* meet you too…" Ranma-chan finished lamely as she removed the bucket on top of her head that the cleaning lady accidentally dropped from the second floor.

Shermie stood there frozen for a minute before she fainted with a loud thud. Ranma-chan and Chris sighed at the same time, Ranma-chan carried the dazed red-head by the arms while Chris led them to CYS' hotel room. The red-head placed the other ponytailed red-head on the bed to let her rest and the blue-eyed boy heated some water for his teacher.

"Your curse has changed huh?" Chris began as he handed Ranma-chan a kettle of hot water. "You're taller too… I had to take a second look to check if it was really you back there. Care to tell how that happened?" 

Ranma-chan poured the contents of the kettle onto her head. "It's… a long story; I'd probably bore you if I explain it right now and besides… your friend is coming to." 

"Uhhnn… what happened?" Shermie asked as she sat up. She looked up and saw a laughing Chris and a very nervous Ranma staring back at her. "What happened?" she asked once more, only to receive a nervous laugh from both men.

After a few more times fainting, demonstrating and explaining, Shermie was finally able to understand how it works even if only a little bit. "This will take some time to get used to Ranma."

"I'm just glad you didn't freak out too much, so you up to learning martial arts?" Ranma-chan asked.

Shermie clasped her hands together. "I'd love to! I don't know much about fighting so I want to learn as much as I can, a woman must know how to defend herself after all."

Chris snickered. "You two really do look like sisters, with those ponytails and that bust size!"

"What?!" the two red-heads shrieked.

"It's true isn't it?" he said, chuckling once again.

Shermie smiled and laughed with the blue-eyed boy while Ranma was ready, willing and able to rip the kid's head off. _'You are sooo dead… no, better yet… I'll save it for your training, heh heh heh…'_

* * *

**Osaka**** Stadium**

Kim couldn't wait any longer so he performed a spinning kick that connected to Kyo's side. Kim continued with several well placed consecutive strikes to his opponent's knee, midsection and head. The Kusanagi heir fell to his knees after that attack, his eyes widened as he received another kick to the face followed by a half-crescent moon slice that connected to his upper back area.

Kim stopped in his assault and watched as the Kusanagi heir fell face first to the ground. Kyo struggled to get up but the brown-haired man simply kicked him back down. Kyo finally couldn't take it anymore; he snapped his fingers and crimson flames soon came out of it.  He randomly swung his flame-covered arm around while he was getting up, his eyes narrowed as he saw Kim running towards him at high speed. 

"Don't underestimate me! Kurai Yagare!!!" he shouted as he performed his Orochinagi at his charging opponent. Kim anticipated the move so he jumped high to avoid the flames but he did not anticipate the Kusanagi heir charging up one more time. He crossed his arms in front of him as he started to descend in hopes to counter whatever move Kyo will pull off this time.

"Kore da Kusanagi no ken da!!! (5)" He shouted as a pillar of flames burst forth from the ground, he then performed a series of flame covered punches through the pillar and onto his opponent. Kim tried blocking the move but the flames and the power behind the punches were so intense that he was forced to drop his guard for just a minute but that was more than enough time for Kyo to make his move.

"Rekishi ga chiga un da yo! (6)" he yelled more to himself than towards his opponent as he charged his right fist with crimson flames, he then aimed for Kim's face as he delivered the attack. Kim's entire body was quickly engulfed in flames just when he was flung to the far side of the battleground.

The Kusanagi heir didn't even do any arrogant poses or taunts after that, he just stared at the bruised and burnt form of Kim while breathing heavily before he decided to leave the arena.

_"The winner of the match… the Hero Team!!!"___

Benimaru and Daimon waited for their leader to congratulate him but Kyo merely pushed them aside. _'Dammit… it wasn't good enough! I have to be stronger if I hope to have at least a snowball's chance in hell to beat Yagami as he is now.'_

* * *

**At the back**

Iori smiled when he saw the look on Kyo's face. _'Are you scared Kusanagi? I swear that I'll end your life sometime in this tournament.' _"Hm hm hm hm… what the hell are you still doing here?" he asked harshly at the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu member.

Vice just smirked. "Nothing, I told you before didn't I? I find it rather interesting to see your uncontrollable anger towards that Kusanagi boy. I really hope that you get your chance to fight him seriously this time…" she said as she placed a hand on Iori's cheek, she smiled at him before she started walking away.

The red-haired man scoffed at Vice's retreating figure. "Bah! Hell with it… I'll fight him even if he somehow manages to avoid me in this tournament."

Mature waited for Vice around the corner. "How do you feel?" she asked with a somewhat knowing smile.

"I feel wonderful! All that power… you know, it feels great to have it course through your body like that." Vice responded gladly as she stretched her arms. "I think I'll take a rest for now… say, where is Ranma anyway?"

The blonde demeanor turned serious. "He needed to cool down; Yagami was really getting to him. Anyway, I asked him that question earlier and I was right… he really is of the Orochi clan and if my instincts are correct, I think that he would be more than happy to help us later on."

Vice nodded. "That's good news; we now have another one to use in the tournament. Well, I'm going to bed Mature… see you later."

Mature looked uncertain for a moment after Vice left for the hotel rooms before she shrugged the feeling off. "Someone to use…" she muttered to herself.

* * *

Chizuru got out of her seat and decided to leave the room. "Kusanagi… you noticed it too didn't you? Yasakani's power and bloodlust is growing by the day which means that Orochi is getting stronger as well. Where is that temple?! Why can't I find it?! Why… ah!" she exclaimed as she bumped into someone. She turned to her side and saw a young man with white hair.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me, I didn't mean to!" The young man quickly apologized.

Chizuru waved it off. "It's alright, just be careful next time." She replied as she walked away.

The white-haired teen rounded the corner before he stopped to look at his left hand. He removed his glove and a circular mark suddenly appeared on his exposed hand, it showed a greenish glow before the mark vanished. "Haha… just as I thought, it is inside you. Miss Chizuru Kagura… you have something that I need so badly and I'm going to have so much fun taking it away from you." 

* * *

(1) – Fun, eh?

(2) – You are quite the fool!

(3) – You won't die so easily!

(4) – That event? I pulled it out of the HK manga's. Athena couldn't control her powers very well when she interfered in the impromptu fight between Iori and Kyo at their school. She accidentally used her powers to see Iori's memories, what happened after that… well… how would you feel if someone actually knew your innermost thoughts and secrets? Worse… how would someone with unstable Orochi blood take it? ^^;

(5) – This is the fist of the Kusanagi!

(6) – History proves otherwise!

**# # #**

**AN: **Sorry for being a little late on the update, I was feeling kinda down after reading quite a number of angst fics this week (That and a few hours fighting that cheap ass Goenitz, my thumbs are still sore *stupid controller* ~~;). Not much advancement in the story this chapter but I'll make it up to you guys next time. 'Till then, Ja ne!

**Next Childhood Days**

_Lonely Wolves Team vs. Special Team; Hakkeshu Team vs. Ikari Team.__ Childhood friends meet once more; will it result in a joyful reunion or a hate-filled one?_


	13. Childhood Days

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! *WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!* Ugh… shutting up now… oi…****

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

**AN:** Integra about the votes, if I counted all of them… Chizuru will be ahead by 2 votes over Shermie.

Chapter 11: **Childhood Days**

* * *

**Tokyo****, ****Japan******

"Reiko, what is the status of the fighters?"

The dark-haired teen glanced at the list in her hand. "The Korea Team will be fine after a few days of rest, they'll stay with the tournament until we arrive at Korea. The Psycho Soldier Team however… Chin Gentsai is practically brain-dead, the doctors do not know when and if he can recover, Sie Kensou has received pretty severe third degree burns and so did Athena Asamiya but there is something else my lady…"

Chizuru had an inquisitive look. "Go on…"

Reiko took a deep breath. "Both Athena and Kensou are still in excruciating pain, whatever master Yasakani did, it has not yet receded. They have been throwing up day and night, and they said that they feel like they're being burned inside out. My lady, can't you do something about this?"

The Kagura priestess contemplated on it. _'Sounds like what the Yasakani clan did to their enemies way back then… their enemies shall suffer but will not have the privilege of dying because of it.' _"Don't worry, I think that it shall disappear soon enough." she assured her friend.

"That's good to hear… anyway, the Hakkeshu Team will fight in the second match today lady Chizuru." she reminded the priestess.

Chizuru waved it off. "I'll worry about that later; right now I'm more concerned about the Boss Team's purpose for being in this tournament. So far, they have already 'advanced' to the second round. Geese Howard and Wolfgang Krauser have already manipulated most of the sponsors to do their bidding. Even as the main host, I can't do a thing to stop them now." she informed her servant.

Reiko gave off a mute gasp of surprise. "My lady, that means…!"

"I don't know what will happen anymore."

* * *

**Forest**** Area**

*WHAM!*

"Ow!"

*WHAM!*

"Stop! I don't want to learn anymore!"

*WHAM!*

"Aw… giving up already? You only got hit seven times!" Ranma shouted with a smirk at his student, who was currently all tied up while hanging upside down among the trees. "What happened to your enthusiasm? You wanted me to train you right? So… here it is!"

*WHAM!*

Chris shot a cold glare to the ponytailed boy. "You never mentioned anything about THIS!" he began. He smiled when he thought of something. "Say… I think it's time for your match, you shouldn't let your girlfriend wait for you… ow!"

*WHAM!*

"Annoying little… listen, the only reason I'm teaching you this is for you to be able to take punches, Yagami's punches to be exact. Not to mention it will give you a new move as well. Did you really think that your breakdancing is going to let you win matches in this type of tournament?" he asked with a laugh. "Anyway, you're right, my match is about to start… see ya later Chris!"

The brown-haired boy frantically tried to untie himself. "Hey! Wait! Help me down first! Ranma!"

* * *

**Tokyo****Tower****: Ground Level**

_"Thank you everyone for coming to see the next match of the King of Fighters Tournament. The first match for today is… the Lonely Wolves Team vs. the Special Team!"_

Terry, Andy and Joe faced their opponents. Joe cautiously eyeing Billy Kane, Andy was glaring at the grinning man in front of him… Ryuji Yamazaki while ol' Terry had an eyebrow raised at the somewhat pleasant atmosphere that greeted him when he looked at short-haired blonde.

_"Well then, let the match… BEGIN!"_

The crowd expected all six fighters to fight it out in a street fight but they were surprised when Joe and Billy walked to the right while Yamazaki and Andy went to the left, leaving Terry and Blue Mary in the middle. They were confused but then it hit them… the Lonely Wolves Team thrives on classic one on one matches so it seems fitting for them to do this kind of thing.

"I guess it's just you and me…" Terry said. Although he was a bit disappointed at this unexpected turn of events, but he had this gut feeling that Blue Mary is more than what she seems.

Blue Mary walked towards the Lonely Wolf. "Hello… handsome boy." 

Terry would've face-faulted if he wasn't so surprised at the warm greeting. His eyes widened when Mary swiftly ran towards him, grabbed his right arm and placed it behind his back in an arm hold.

"You're Terry Bogard, right?" The short-haired blonde whispered into his ear.

The ponytailed man nodded slightly. "Yeah, that's me… who wants to know?" he whispered right back while countering Blue Mary's move with an arm lock of his own.

"Mary Ryan… it's nice to finally be able meet the legendary Lonely Wolf…" she whispered back while kicking Terry on the shin, forcing Terry to release his hold on her. She followed it up with a leg sweep and then into a leg bar. 

Terry countered with a light kick to Blue Mary's face, causing the girl's head to jerk back. He chained the initial counterattack with an arm grab and into an arm lock on the ground.

"We have to talk later… right now I'd like you to knock me out."

The ponytailed blonde blinked. "What did you say?" 

Mary sighed. She rolled to her side and stopped right on top of Terry's downed form. "I said… I'm going to take a dive in this match… I'll explain later so please knock me out. Geese is already a little wary of me so my loss would have to be for real." she explained.

Terry nodded slightly. He performed a standard throw but Blue Mary flipped in mid-air to land safely on the floor. "Grrr… Power wave!"

The short-haired blonde took the full brunt of the attack. Whether her final scream was real or not, it was enough to convince the crowd. Terry breathed deeply. He dusted himself off with his hat before finding a place to sit down to watch his teammates fight the rest of the Special Team.

* * *

Yamazaki smirked at his opponent. He pulled out a knife from his pocket and began to lick its tip. "You're my opponent? You can't beat me, small fry!"

Andy frowned at the insult but managed to keep his cool. He took a deep breath, crouched low with his right feet extended forward and hands spread apart. "We'll see about that, laughing boy."

"Eheheheheh… come on! Show me what you've got little Bogard! Eheheheh!" Yamazaki called out, his hands signaling Andy to make the first move.

"Let's do it your way smiley!" Andy drove his elbow to Yamazaki's stomach. He followed it up with a kick to the ribs, to the thigh and finally to the ankle. Yamazaki pulled a knife out and managed to slash Andy a couple of times on the legs and on the stomach area but the younger Bogard fought back with an elbow smash to the back of Yamazaki's neck, making him drop to the ground.

Yamazaki played possum as he waited for Andy to drop his guard. He laughed when the younger Bogard did so and performed an uppercut followed by a knife slash to his face, grazing it a little bit but Andy recovered to slap the knife out of Yamazaki's hand and retaliated with a roundhouse kick to the back of Yamazaki's head, forcing him to meet the floor for the second time. 

Andy wiped some blood on his face. "Yamazaki, you can't win against me in this fair fight."

"Yeah… there is only one problem little Bogard… I don't play FAIR!!!"

Andy's eyes widened when a thin yet durable wire wrapped itself around his neck. He tried jumping back but his opponent simply pulled the wire and sent him crashing down hard. He attempted to cut the wire with the knife on the floor but Yamazaki was onto his every move as he drove his knee to the younger Bogard's stomach just as Andy was going for it. 

Yamazaki used this chance to pull out another knife from his shirt and he grinned like a madman when he successfully stabbed the dazed blonde on the leg. Yamazaki stared at the kneeling Bogard with those murderous eyes and that wicked smile. 

Some of the fans were shaking in fear at the scene infront of them, most were already wondering if Yamazaki is really human with him being able to take that kind of damage and continue to get up and attack his opponent to no end.

"Eheheheheh! I'm gonna carve you into strips!"

* * *

"Haven't your boss died enough times? What is he up to now? Is he going for the most times thrown out of a building? Huh?" Joe mocked.

Billy drove his long rod weapon to Joe's exposed chest, making him gasp for breath. "Shut up boxer boy and maybe I'll let you live… only to be beaten in your next kick boxing fight." he taunted right back.

"We'll see about that! Ora! Hurricane upper!!!"

The bandana-wearing man smirked. _'Predictable.' _"It's too easy, Higashi!" He jumped over the small tornado via high-jumping with his long rod and proceeded to kick Joe's face as he came down. 

Blood spurted out of Joe's nose and by the looks of it… his nose seems to have been broken by that attack. "Son of a… Damn you, Billy! You're going to pay for this! Thrust Kick!"

Billy blocked the lunge with his rod. He counterattacked with a high knee to the chin followed by a kick to the sternum. Joe winced in pain but ignored it a few moments later as he ran towards his opponent with a couple of lefts and rights that hit home. Billy spun his rod infront of him as he jumped backwards to avoid any further attack.

"Shit…" the bandana-wearing man mumbled, spitting out some blood as he did so. 

Joe gave him a goofy grin. "What do you say Billy? I don't like long fights so let's finish it right here, right now! Here you go stick boy! Eat this!"

"You're out of luck dipshit! Fire!!!"

* * *

**A few blocks from the fight**

_'I'm starting to act like Cologne of all people… but I have to admit, it really does feel great to teach him… even if he'll probably be afraid of me when I tell him everything.' _Ranma thought despondently. "I'm finally here! Huh? There are a lot of people watching the fight… wonder if we're already up? What the heck?"

Joe and Billy's clash of power resulted in creating a flaming tornado, causing several fans to run for their lives. Ranma studied the flaming attack with interest. _'Woah… a hurricane generated by your own energy… I guess I can do that but it will not be as powerful as the Hiryu Shoten Ha when you're already exhausted. It will still make a fine attack though… wonder if I should try it.'_

His musings where rudely interrupted when he detected a familiar presence leaning on a wall to his right. Said presence was smiling from ear to ear as he looked at Ranma with those hate-filled eyes.

"Are you impressed by such a weak move, Saotome?"

Ranma closed his eyes and scowled. "Not now Yagami… now is not a very good time to mess with me… or are you saying that a hurricane that could knock you out is weak?"

Iori grinned at the question. He casually approached the blue-eyed boy all the while summoning his purple flames in the process. "I need to test my skills to see how far I have gone… and you're the only one that can do that for me now that Kusanagi is not a challenge yet. So… care to oblige, Saotome?"

The ponytailed boy gave him the cold shoulder and walked towards Tokyo Tower.

The red-haired man smirked. "Some other time then…"

* * *

**Tokyo****Tower****: Ground Level**

Terry watched with a hint of concern when Joe dropped to the ground along with Billy Kane. Joe tried as best as he could to get back up to his feet while Billy used his rod as a support to try and do the same but the two fighters already spent their last ounce of strength in the last attack. Both men fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Andy wasn't doing any better. He could barely stand up due to his leg wound along with a few cuts and slashes on the rest of his body. Yamazaki charged once more, Andy rolled to the side but the grinning psychopath anticipated the move. "Like I said… you're just a small fry!"

He kicked Andy in the sternum and he followed it up with a knife slash to Andy's left arm. The psychopath twirled his knife around his hand before licking the blood off of it. "Heheheheeeeeee… little Bogard… DIE!!!"

"Crack Shot!"

Yamazaki blocked the oncoming kick with his arm but lost his hold on the knife in the process. He grinned at the older Bogard, he pulled out yet another knife and tried to stab Terry's leg but the ponytailed blonde reacted by kicking the psychopath's other arm, immediately knocking the weapon out of his hand.

Andy scowled. "Bro, I can handle him by myself!"

"Your anger is clouding your judgment little bro. Andy, didn't you noticed it when you were fighting him? Yamazaki's power is increasing the longer this fight goes on." The older Bogard calmly explained.

The younger Bogard glared at his brother before the words kicked in. "You're… right… I should've noticed it sooner. I guess we have to take him down together huh?"__

Terry nodded, his face turned serious. "Yeah… and let's do it right now… what?!"

Yamazaki ran towards them with surprising speed, catching the Bogard brothers off guard. He knocked Terry on the ground with a clothesline and he grabbed Andy's face with his other hand. "Die! Die! Die! Shaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Andy could do nothing but scream in pain when his face was being grinded against the floor as Yamazaki randomly ran around the area. Yamazaki finished it off by throwing the younger Bogard upwards. He pulled out three knives that he picked up along the way and two of them struck both of the long-haired blonde's arms. He twirled the last knife around his hand and was about to throw it to Andy's chest when he received a powerful punch to the face.

"Burn Knuckle!"

Yamazaki was thrown back a few feet from the attack. Terry ignored Yamazaki's downed form and immediately rushed to his brother's side. "Little bro! Andy! Are you alright? Answer me! Little bro!"

"I-I'm fine… Ter… just a little shaken up… eheh…"

"Eheheheheeeee… shaaaaaaaa!!!"

Terry and Andy were knocked down by Yamazaki's outburst of power. Said psychopath was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes were blood red and the Bogard brothers could've sworn that they saw Yamazaki licking his own blood not too long ago.

"Terry… let's do it!"

"Okay little bro!"

The ponytailed blonde shoulder tackled the deranged Yamazaki. "Eat this! Power… GEYSER!!!" he yelled as a wave of energy burst forth as he punched into the ground just under his opponent, sending Yamazaki flying to the sky. Andy ignored any pain in his body right now as he used Terry's back as leverage to finish it off. 

"Chou Reppa Dan! (1)" Andy shouted as the move hit the maniac's chest. He finished it off with by driving Yamazaki's body deep into the ground. The crowd all freaked when Yamazaki laughed while bleeding from the mouth. He smiled maniacally before finally losing consciousness.

_"Ladies and Gentlemen… Here are the winners of the match… the Lonely Wolves Team!"_

Mai hurriedly ran towards Andy's side, she nodded to Terry before she and Andy slowly went to the medical room to receive immediate treatment. Terry did the same as he assisted Joe. He followed Mai a few moments later.

* * *

**????**

"Magnificent… he actually fought evenly with the Bogard brothers in that short period of time."  

"Of course but that is merely just a sample of the power his blood holds."

"True, but I cannot stand this waiting game any longer Geese." 

"Just wait a little bit more Krauser… it will pay off soon enough."

* * *

Mature blinked at Yamazaki's downed form. _'Is he of Orochi blood? The bloodlust, the pleasure he gets in killing people and a few signs of awakening. Looks like we have a potential third here…'_

"Did I miss anything?" 

The blonde turned around to see a slightly exhausted Ranma. "What happened to you?"

Ranma took a couple of deep breaths. "Oh, just training… didn't realize that I was so far out 'till it was almost too late. I'm glad I made it in time."

"I see… anyway, let's go shall we? We wouldn't want our opponents to wait for long." The blonde said with a mischievous smile. 

The ponytailed boy nodded, he was about to walk up the stairs when he paused in mid-step. "Say… Mature? I have a favor to ask. When we fight the Ikari Team… can you fight them without using your powers? Unlike Vice did to the Psycho Soldier Team? I really don't want that kind of thing to happen right now so… please?"

Mature raised an eyebrow at the request. The two stared at one another for a long time before Mature sighed and shook her head at the unpredictability of her partner. "Alright, I won't do anything of the sort unless absolutely necessary… I promise. Is that okay Ranma?" 

Ranma smiled and nodded. "Thanks Mature. Now, let's go and win ourselves a match!"

The blonde stood there for a moment, a blush creasing on her cheeks as she thought about the smile but she quickly shook it off. _'No, he's a Hakkeshu… nothing more, nothing less.'_

* * *

**Meanwhile,**

**Mt.****Horaisan**** Ruins**

"I gotta get another job…" Ash muttered in annoyance as he cleared large chunks of rocks with small bursts of energy. His tirade ended when he came upon a small cave entrance. The white-haired man smiled, and breathed a small sigh of relief. "Well… at least she wasn't lying about this one, stupid old hag."

The white-haired boy warily took a step forward, several arrows shot out of the walls. Fortunately, he was able to jump back in time. "I… will… kill… her!" he said with clenched fists. He cupped his hands together and concentrated, a green ball of energy quickly formed between them. Ash threw it inside the cave, lighting the area along the way, the blast dissipated as it struck an odd statue at the far end.

Ash lost his balance as the ground shook underneath him. "What is going… oh shit!" he swore as he found himself falling into a trap door.

"Ohhh… what hit me?" he said groggily while rubbing the back of his head. He looked up to see a room full of dragon statues, except for the one in the middle, which was in the form and size of a regular human. "Ah, so this is where you have been hiding! Nice place, if you like living inside an oversized coffin."

He walked past the line of statues, glancing around as he did so. He stopped however, when he noticed an oblique-shaped pendant that was being worn by the middle statue. 

"I'll take that if you don't mind." he said excitedly as he jumped up and snatched the pendant. Ash's moment of triumph was interrupted when all the statues' eyes glow bright green, he screamed in pain as huge amounts of energy from those eyes struck the pendant in his hand, as if telling him to let go. His eyes were already wide open, his mouth has gone dry and his clothing was being singed little by little but his hold on the artifact still hadn't faltered.

On a final, desperate attempt, he summoned his own green flames in hopes to counteract the energy surge. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the pendant, those blue eyes of his turned red as he released the last ounce of his power towards the pendant. The earth trembled as Ash's power caused a backlash, shattering the statues one by one. 

The white-haired teen sat down heavily, his breathing was erratic, his clothes were burnt and he was a feeling a little worse for wear but what really pissed him off was the damage done to his fingernails. "Oh this is great!" he said sarcastically. "Now I have to do them all over again…"

He placed the pendant into his pocket as he stood up, he dusted himself off afterwards. As he was exiting the cave, Ash managed a smile. "That's one less problem to worry about."

* * *

**Tokyo**** Outskirts**

"Kurai Yagare!"

The flame traveled a few feet from its caster, burning several trees in the process. Kyo dropped to his knees, panting heavily. Who wouldn't? He got up very early in the morning and started training in who knows what type of Kusanagi flame techniques. 

"Haaaaahhhhh!!!" he yelled, crimson flames slowly appearing around him. He punched into the ground, the flames traveled in a rough circular pattern, like a shockwave gone array. It continued for a few feet, burning tree leaves and branches along the way before it died out.

"Don't push yourself too hard Kyo."

Kyo quickly turned around to see a brown-haired girl standing a few feet from him. "Yuki? What are you doing here? You should be in Osaka attending school!" 

Yuki blinked. _'Look who's talking…' _"I-I thought that I should be here… it just felt right for some reason. Kyo, you'll drive yourself crazy one day with your obsession on being the best."

"You wouldn't understand…"

"You're right. I won't understand any of this if you don't tell me what's bothering you. I'm here for you Kyo…I want to help you so… please… don't avoid me…" she said through sobs as she embraced her boyfriend.

* * *

**Tokyo****Tower****: Ground Level **

_"We will now begin the second match between the Hakkeshu Team and the Ikari Team."_

Both teams faced one another. Mature, Ralf and Clark cautiously studied their each other while Leona and Ranma bowed their heads as a sign of respect. Their teammates were confused by this odd gesture though…

_"Let the match… BEGIN!!!"_

Ranma and Mature simply stood there, tempting their opponents to make the first move… and they did. Ralf was the first one to charge, Clark looked at Leona and the girl replied with a nod, they soon joined their teammate in their attempt at first strike.

Mature easily jumped over the two men but to her surprise, Leona met her in mid-air and kicked her on the sides causing her to fall to the ground. The blonde recovered by doing a one arm handstand to prevent her fall, she followed it up with an upward kick that struck the descending Leona on the chest.

Clark grabbed the ponytailed boy by the arms and tried to hold him down for Ralf to tackle with his shoulder. It was useless when Ranma engulfed himself in purple flames, forcing Clark to release the hold. Ranma proceeded to perform the Amaguriken on Clark and finishing it off with a brutal uppercut that sent the man in shades flying a few feet away.

Ranma turned to the side to see a charging Ralf but Mature cut him off with a wicked slash to his arm. He then saw an airborne Leona throwing a very sharp projectile towards his partner so he grabbed the blonde and quickly rolled out of the way.

"Mouko Takabisha!"

A golden wave of ki traveled past Ralf and Leona but they weren't the targets in the first place. Clark was just beginning to come to when he found himself being slammed to a wall thanks to the ki blast.

Ralf dashed once more and attacked with very fast punches that forced Ranma to counter with his Amaguriken, fist for fist, punch for punch. Ranma has the speed advantage but Ralf had the power behind the punches so both of them quickly became exhausted the longer they fought.

The ponytailed boy jumped back, surprising his opponent. He arched back his arm and summoned his flame but he stopped when it collided with something. He turned around and saw Leona knocked out cold with a little blood coming out of her mouth.

* * *

Mature was calmly observing the fight from a certain distance. _'So that's Guidel's daughter huh? Leona, a potential Orochi Hakketsu Shuu of Water. And it looks like she has already served her purpose without even realizing it.'_

Ranma on the other hand, immediately knelt beside Leona, already forgetting that he has another opponent behind him. A little angry at being ignored and showing some signs of jealousy at the scene infront of him, Ralf started to charge up his arm.

With his attention focused solely on Leona, Ranma ignored his senses as he tried to snap the girl out of it. That's why he jumped up in surprise at the loud voice that suddenly roared behind him.

"Galactica Phantom… Dokkan!!! (2)"

Ranma barely had time to raise an arm infront of him in a desperate attempt to block the attack. Ralf's punch connected to the boy's right arm. The horrid sound of bones breaking could be heard as the full impact took its toll, the ponytailed boy grimaced in pain as that blow sent him sliding all the way back. He only stopped when he come into contact with a wall a few feet from Tokyo Tower. 

The ponytailed boy barely had time to recover from the attack when he found himself being slammed right back into the wall by Ralf's shoulder tackle. Ralf followed it up by a barrage of punches that finally destroyed the wall sending both him and Ranma inside the store.

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Ranma summoned his purple flames that quickly set the entire store on fire. Ralf tried to cover himself but to no avail, smoke was everywhere and the flames were slowly burning his clothes.

Ranma just sat a few feet infront of Ralf, aiming his left hand at Ralf while doing so. Purple flames soon came out of his left hand in the form of a fireball. He yelled as the fireball swiftly went forward and burned the Ikari warrior whole. The ponytailed boy concentrated once more.

"Mouko Takabisha!"

The ki wave sent Ralf flying back to the outside, apparently knocked out. Ranma winced when the pain in his right arm finally registered. He slowly went outside the store via the hole they made earlier.

* * *

Ranma kneeled in pain as he clutched his right arm. He endured the pain when he saw Leona waking up from that hard strike he accidentally gave her. He limply walked towards the girl as he spoke. "Leona…"

The blue-haired girl immediately went on alert. "Who is it? Ranma… tell me… you know something about my past, don't you?" she asked in her usual icy tone.

"Yes… yes I do know something. Let me ask you first… do you remember me? Think back Leona, please remember… remember everything." he said calmly.

Leona was taken back by this. "I can't! I only see their terrified faces when I try to recall the past! Who are you anyway?! What do you know about me?!"

"Please Leona… remember everything. Remember? Those days of happiness you had at your tribe? Please don't focus on only the bad memories of your past. I know there were good ones too. Just try to remember Leona…" Ranma said with a small smile of reassurance.

Leona looked at him blankly before her eyes widened as she finally began to recall everything from that time.

* * *

****

"It has been a long time, Guidel."

Guidel smiled. "Yes it has, Nodoka."

Nodoka noticed the girl next to Guidel. She smiled sweetly at the blue-haired girl. "Hi… I'm a childhood friend of your father, my name is Nodoka Saotome. May I know your name little one?"

"L-Leona."

The auburn-haired woman beamed at the little girl. "Leona, what a nice name you have there little one. I hope we can get a chance to know each other Leona-chan."

Leona's father did the same to the young, innocent looking child hiding behind the auburn-haired woman. "Let me guess, you must be Ranma. You really do look a lot like your mother…"

Chibi-Ranma stared innocently at the tall man in front of him. "Are you mommy's friend?"

Guidel smiled. "Yes I am."

The blue-eyed child smiled back. "Can I be your friend too mister?" he asked enthusiastically, extending his little hand out to the Hakkeshu of Water. 

The Hakkeshu chuckled as he shook the blue-eyed boy's hand. "Of course young man but first, let me introduce you to my daughter. Leona, can you come here for a second?"

Both Chibi-Leona and Chibi Ranma curiously looked at each other. Leona was hesitant in speaking to the blue-eyed boy while Ranma blinked a few times before deciding to break the silence. "Hi! I'm Ranma!" he exclaimed happily, smiling at the shy blue-haired girl.

Chibi-Leona tried to shy away but she couldn't help but smile back at the hyperactive youth. "I'm Leona… p-pleased to meet you Ranma."

"Do you wanna play?" Ranma asked in an innocent tone.

With a smile still on her face, Leona eagerly nodded in affirmative, her shyness being overshadowed by the boy's friendliness. 

****

_"I… I remember…"_

****

"BWAH!!!"

Chibi-Leona bopped the boy on the head. "Stop scaring me like that!"

"Ah, you're no fun… tag! You're it!"

Leona pouted. "No fair! No fair! I wasn't ready! Ranchan!"

****

_"R-Ranchan…"_

****

"They're really getting along, aren't they?" Nodoka asked.

Guidel chuckled at the question. "Leona still has some problems with Ranma's 'protect the weak, especially the women' motto though… haha! Ranma has been bopped on the head so many times that I've lost count already."

"Well, Ranma is devoted to being a martial artist. He believes in the art, he puts his heart into every move he performs, that is how dedicated he is at this young age." Nodoka said with pride.

"True… I think he will go a long way with that passion but! I think Leona has found a weakness in him…" Guidel snickered, pointing at the two children.

Chibi-Leona was sitting on the ground, crying her heart out. Chibi-Ranma was frantically mumbling apologies left and right, totally oblivious to the fact that Chibi-Leona was already giggling at the scene in front of her.

"Hahaha! Gotcha!"

"AH! You fooled me!" 

And the two playfully got into a tussle, with Nodoka and Guidel laughing with them.

****

_"Father… Mother… Auntie… Ranma…"_

****

"Nodoka, this is my wife, Matsuri."

The auburn-haired woman smiled. "Hello Matsuri-san, I'm Nodoka Saotome. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

The blue-haired woman bowed in return. "It is a pleasure to meet you too Nodoka-san, my husband has told me many wonderful things about you… huh?"

"Ne? Ne? Can I be your friend too ma'am?" Chibi-Ranma seemingly popped out of nowhere, eagerly tugging the tall woman's dress.

"I'd be honored to be your friend, young one."

Chibi-Ranma beamed at the woman but suddenly grew pale when he heard Chibi-Leona's angry voice getting closer and closer.

"I'm going to get you yet!"

"Um… can'ttalkrightnowthecrazygirlisrightbehindmebye!"

The three adults sweat dropped at the blue-eyed youth's retreating figure.

****

_"Hahah… crazy girl…"_

****

"You're leaving already?"

"I'm sure me and momma will visit some time soon." 

"You promise?"

"Yup! We're friends, right?"

****

* * *

Leona was still wide-eyed from recalling her past. "I… I remember… my Father, Mother and Auntie… everyone in the village and you, Ranma. I recalled everything that has happened… which means that I really did do all those things to them. No… I-I killed them! I-I'm a murde-" she was cut off when Ranma hugged her tight.

"Shhhh! I know… I know what you're going through. I went through the same thing Leona… shhhhh… It's not your fault. It's not your fault. You had no control over it… it's not your fault." he whispered soothingly into her ear.

The blue-haired girl couldn't take it anymore as she cried her heart out and hugged Ranma for all he's worth, much to the surprise of her teammates, especially the man watching from the monitors. 

Leona sobbed even harder as Ranma whispered comforting words to her ear. The wonderful memories she recalled with everyone. Then meeting her childhood friend after all these years… lastly, finding out that there is someone that knows what she is going through… someone who truly understands her… someone who she can share her pain with and the comfort in knowing that she is not alone anymore.

Ranma looked at his childhood friend with teary eyes. _'I'm glad to see you too Leona. Huh? Passed out? I guess the emotional strain was too much for her to handle… eheh, geez… I'm starting to sound like doc Tofu.' _Ranma thought with a light chuckle.

* * *

Ralf and Clark both got up at the same time, they were about to tackle the ponytailed boy when Mature decided to block their way. "Now, now… are you going to interfere with two childhood friends in their moment together? I thought you military types have a heart… guess I was wrong." _'Yes… I won't allow you to interfere with these Orochi clan members… especially two potential Orochi Hakketsu Shuu.'_

"Outta the way lady!"

Mature shook her head. "Hmph… what barbarians you are. That really is no way to treat a lady you know. Since your superiors failed to teach you some manners, I guess I'll have to do it for them."

She had a murderous gleam in her eyes after she said that, she raised her arms up high and begins to concentrate. Both Ikari warriors covered their eyes as a blinding surge of light (3) appeared out of nowhere. "You men… you take advantage of weaker people… you take advantage of defenseless people! Well, this time it's different! Now is a good time to pray to your god!"

The light intensified, causing everyone within a few miles from Tokyo Tower to shield their eyes. But to Ralf and Clark, that intense light was burning their skin out. The Orochi Hakketsu Shuu member had a maniacal smile on her face as she spoke, "Come! It is time to meet your maker!"

"MATURE!!!"

The blonde's concentration was snapped when she heard his voice. She tried to ignore her partner but in the end, she reluctantly withdrew her attack. _'Damn it… why couldn't I do it?'_

Ranma gently placed the sleeping Leona on the floor. He turned to the two Ikari warriors with a critical eye, he dashed towards them with speed Mature has never seen him do before. He promptly pressed a few well placed paralyzing points through their still lax defenses before finally pressing their sleep point. "Whew… it's over."

_"Ladies and gentlemen, here are your winners of the match… the Hakkeshu Team!"_

Mature was slightly scared at Ranma's bowed head when he turned to face her. That's why she almost jumped in surprise when the ponytailed boy placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Thank you… for keeping your promise. I really appreciate it." Ranma said as he looked up and smiled at the blonde.

The ponytailed boy gently carried the sleeping blue-haired girl once more. He was almost at the clinic when he encountered a tall man with an eye patch. The fact that the man was wearing a military uniform didn't escape him either. "Yes…?"

"Is she alright?" he asked bluntly.

Ranma looked at Leona before answering. "Don't worry, she just passed out. I guess recalling her past memories must have taken its toll on her." he explained.

Relief washed through the man's features, he sighed and stared at the ponytailed boy. "Did you know her well? From the look on her face now, she seemed really glad to have met you."

"Yeah… she was my first childhood friend."

"I see…"

The man introduced himself as Heidern, Leona's father figure after that incident from her village. The two took Leona into the clinic to let her rest for awhile. Ranma left Leona to Heidern's care a couple of minutes later. He thinks that those two really need to sort things out. 

"Ouch… darn, my arm hurts like hell…" he mumbled.

"Um… Mr. Ranma?"

Ranma looked to his left and saw a familiar Kagura servant. "Oh… Reiko, was it? I haven't seen you in awhile, how have you been?" he said while trying to ignore the pain in his arm.

Reiko timidly glanced at him. "I-I'm doing fine Mr. Ranma but I came to see if you're alright. The punch that Mr. Jones gave you should've taken your arm off!" she said in concern. "I should take a look at it. If it is broken then you have a chance to recover. We'll spend another week or two here before we head to Kowloon, China for the next match."

"I'm fine Reiko. I think it will heal in time for my next match."

"But I insist! I already have some anesthetics, operating knives and injections ready to use! Let me treat it please Ranma-san, please!"

* * *

**Tokyo****Park******

Ranma hopped onto a tree branch, barely avoiding Reiko and her medical kit. _'Sheesh, I don't need that kind of treatment. Dang, I hope my arm is not broken… too much.' _He ripped off his sleeve and used it for support on his right arm just in case. He popped out his head to check if the dark-haired teen is gone. Finding no one around, he jumped down from the branch and started to leave the area. 

_'Leona, I hope you're alright… and sorry about that punch.' _He blinked when he noticed a figure standing in front of him. He looked up, only to receive a thunderous slap on the cheek. The birds immediately fluttered away and silence took over the entire area. Ranma placed a hand on his cheek as he spoke, "Ucchan…"

He was about to say more when he was caught by surprise by the sudden embrace. "You jackass! Why didn't you tell me you're alive?! I had to hear it from someone else! Dammit! I'm your fiancée Ranchan! You should've contacted me first!" Ukyou shouted in between sobs.

"Ukyou… let go of me…" Ranma whispered calmly, his eyes already narrowed at a certain part of her statement. "I said let go…" he said once more.

Ukyou removed her grip albeit hesitantly, she stared at 'her' Ranchan with a questioning gaze. "What's wrong Ranchan?"

Ranma gave her a very intimidating glare. "Did you come all the way here just to push this damn engagement? Answer me Uccha… Ukyou."

"Yes, of course! Now that the Chinese Bimbo and Akane are no longer a problem, we can get married without any more nuisances!" she said boastfully, as if she just one in a contest.

The ponytailed boy grabbed her by the shoulders. "Ukyou… what exactly did you hear? Especially about Akane…"

Ukyou pondered on it. "Konatsu said that Akane was hospitalized, that's it." 

Ranma started to laugh, softly at first but soon turned into a full-blown manic laughter. "Kami-sama! I didn't know that Konatsu was stupid enough to leave out one very important detail…"

"What is it?"

The Orochi half-breed grinned as he grabbed her by the neck. "I WAS THE ONE THAT SENT HER THERE!!! If I am capable of doing that to the person I care about the most there in Nerima then think of what I can do to you! Listen carefully Ukyou, I love you only as a friend… nothing more… and I certainly will not marry you so stop pushing this worthless engagement onto me!" he bellowed as he released his hold on the slightly shaking girl.

"You're mine! I'm your fiancée and you're going to marry me! Don't you have any honor Saotome?! Or are you really just an honorless pig like your father?!" The girl in serious denial quickly shut up when purple flames surrounded her, she screamed in fear when the flames began to make its way up her body. "Ranchan! Help me please! Help me!"

Ranma gave her a neutral look. "Do you want to die?"

"W-what?" she managed to squeak out.

"I said… do you want to die? Hurry up, you don't have all day… those flames will burn you alive any minute Ukyou…" he once again said in an eerie calm tone that sent shivers up the okonomiyaki girl's spine.

Ukyou shook her head in response, the flames around her died out seconds later, and Ranma allowed a scowl to appear on his features. "Then stay the hell away from me! I'm not a possession Ms. Kuonji, if you can't get that through your immature head then leave me alone!"

Ranma turned around and left, but anger marred his features when he sensed Ukyou coming at him with her spatula. He quickly slapped the spatula away from Ukyou's hands. His eyes were filled with rage when he reached for the brown-haired girl's neck. "Ukyou…" 

The girl frantically tried to pry herself from the hold but Ranma wouldn't let her. Her vision was starting to become blurry as she struggled to breathe. Lucky for her, Ranma threw her backwards, her body slamming on a tree, knocking her out. 

_'Soul of ice…'_ "I don't know you anymore Kuonji, and I am certainly not your Ranchan. The engagement will never happen, if you still insist on bothering me about that then I will gladly renounce my family name… if it is the only way to be free from that pathetic panda's promises then so be it. I'm sick and tired of people using my honor against me."

He knelt in front of Ukyou and cupped the girl's face. "The Ranma that treated you as a friend and the Ranma that you have loved is dead Kuonji. If you want to regain your tarnished honor so much then go to the Tokyo General Hospital, you can kill the panda there. Konatsu… I already know you're here so stop hiding. You better tell her all of this and you better keep her away from me or else I don't know what I might do to her."

Konatsu appeared beside Ukyou, normally he would've attacked the person who would harm Ukyou in such a way but this time… he simply looked into Ranma's eyes and nodded. It wasn't because the ponytailed boy was stronger than him nor was it the dark aura surrounding him. It was because of his eyes… the look of loneliness, and the despair of losing another loved one. He glanced at Ukyou and was surprised to see her wide-awake with tears falling freely from her eyes. "Ranchan…"

Ranma walked down the road with his head hung low, his bangs covering his eyes. He clenched his teeth as he slammed his injured arm on a wall. Teardrops slowly fell onto the cold ground as he muttered his childhood friend's name, maybe for the last time. "Ucchan…"

* * *

**Local Bar**

"Another shot!" a familiar, drunken teen demanded.

The bartender dumbly nodded at the demand, he wouldn't want to cross him again, he still has the bruises from the last time he tried something stupid as that. "H-here y-you go sir, enjoy y-your drink."

Most of the people inside the bar were hardcore fans for the tournament, and they were really getting freaked out at the behavior of the ponytailed boy. He cried tears of joy when his match ended a few hours ago and now he's sulking, wallowing in despair for some reason they can't understand.

Ranma gulped down another shot of wine, his vision was starting to get fuzzy but he shrugged it off and ordered yet another shot. "This is great… just great… wonder what's next in my damned life." he muttered to himself.

"Hey Mister! Give me a glass of wine if you would… or else he'll beat you up!" a familiar brown-haired teen shouted.

The bartender glumly agreed to it. Ranma turned his head a little to get a good look at Chris. "You're still alive… congratulations. By the looks of it, you have gotten the move down too…"

"Barely…" Chris mumbled. "You do know that you're a lousy drinker, right? So… why are you wasting your time sulking here?" he asked. Curiosity was evident in his voice.

Ranma held up his glass. "I have one childhood friend back but I lost another in return. Does that answer your question? Now leave me alone." he said, pushing his student away. He was about to drink another glass but the alcohol finally won the battle. He slumped on the table head first, his hand still gripping the glass of wine.

Chris shook his head, he tried to carry his master but he was too heavy for him to lift given his current condition. He whispered a few words into Ranma's ear, he smiled as the ponytailed boy responded with a 'yeah, whatever'. The brown-haired boy was about to try and assist him again when he saw Mature come up to them and carefully placed Ranma's arm around her neck for support.

"Thank you, I'll take it from here if you don't mind."

The boy nodded but accompanied the two outside the bar before going their separate ways. Mature watched as Chris walked down the other end of the street. She sighed, turned her head and began to address Ranma. "You really must've had quite a day huh? Well, I think that's enough merriment for now."

* * *

**Hakkeshu**** Team Hotel Room**

"Easy…" Mature whispered to the drunken teen. "Really now… I can't believe you drank that much, even I can't drink that many times."

She carefully guided her partner to his own bed. The ponytailed boy quickly fell asleep a few seconds later. Mature studied her partner's sleeping form with a sad look. She brushed her partner's hair as she spoke. "A child from the sacred tribe… Ranma… I wish that we haven't met… I just wish that…"

Mature stopped in mid-sentence as she bit her lower lip. Her deep blue eyes gazing at Ranma's calm and peaceful face. She never did notice her head leaning closer to the sleeping boy nor her luscious red lips inching closer to his. Her eyes widened significantly when their lips met but she soon closed them a few moments later as she became too enthralled at the feel of the kiss.

A moment… it all happened in a brief moment but to a certain Hakkeshu, it felt as if it lasted an entire lifetime.

Finally snapping back to reality, the blonde broke the kiss as she backed away from the still sleeping ponytailed boy. Her breathing was heavy, and her face was flushed in a mixture of embarrassment and excitement at what just transpired. It was like nothing she has ever felt before in her entire life. She got up and glanced at Ranma one more time. "Sweet dreams… Ranma…"

* * *

(1) – Super Violent Ripping Bullet

(2) – Galactic Phantom… Burst!

(3) – Mature was named the Hakkeshu of Light in the HK manga but SNK didn't mention her official element though. I guess they were a little lazy on it (Or maybe they didn't really do it since they were going to kill her off in '96…) ^^; Anyway, I'll go with the element of light in this fic.

**# # #**

**AN: **Well, I told you I'd make it up to you guys this chapter. I just hope you enjoyed this one. Oh… the last scene? I did say that those actions will be explained later on… *sweat drops*… promise! Errrr… ah… summer! Gotta go! Until next time! Ja ne!

**Next The Dragon and the Serpent**

_Enough with the breasts already!!! _

_- Three guesses on who said that… ^^_


	14. The Dragon and The Serpent

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! *WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!* Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 12: **The Dragon and the Serpent**

* * *

"That should do it. I hit a couple of nerve points that should neutralize the pain in your right arm. You should fully recover within a week or so if you don't participate in any impromptu fights during that time span." 

Ranma nodded. "Thanks doc, I remembered that you're clinic is somewhere in this area so I figured that you should have a look at this injury, you're the best as far as I can tell."

"Thanks for the compliment Ranma." he paused before continuing. "By the way, I heard what took place a couple of weeks back as well as your talk with Kuonji-san… are you sure you're alright?" Tofu asked carefully.

The ponytailed boy hung his head. "I don't know. I mean, I do feel terrible on how it all came down to that, I guess I really couldn't take anymore of the things they were forcing me to do. The same goes for Kuonji, I never was a possession doc but they seem to forget that I'm a person too dammit." 

Ranma sat down hard on the sofa. "I told you that this is what I feared when I came back a couple of months ago doc but… regardless, there is one thing good that came out of this. After what they saw me do to them and to their loved ones, I'm pretty sure that they'll avoid me from now on, and I hope it stays that way because I… I… I don't think that I'll stop at just beating the hell out of them…" he said in a serious tone, his eyes turning purple for a brief moment.

If Tofu noticed the change in Ranma's eyes he did not show any indication of it. "So, what are you planning to do now Ranma?" he inquired. 

"I don't know… I'm only in this tournament because somebody blackmailed me. They said that they'll ruin the lives of the Tendo's, the Kuonji's and anybody else close to me if I don't join. I might as well go along with it and probably beat the hell out of the ones that did this to me." he growled out, his flames involuntarily appeared.

"Calm down Ranma! Calm down!" Tofu pleaded.

Ranma glanced at the frantic doctor before he became aware of what he was doing. "I'm sorry doc. I just can't control myself like I used to even when I apply the soul of ice. Like I said before doc, I don't know what I am anymore. I don't know then and I'm certainly nowhere near in finding out the answer to it now."

Silence ensued, both men seemingly in deep thought. Ranma's shoulders slumped as he suddenly says farewell to Tofu while the good doctor merely looked at the boy's retreating figure with sad eyes. _'Too much… it's too much of a burden for someone of his young age to carry. I fear that there will come a time where he might truly lose it completely… his sanity and his humanity… I pray that does not happen.'_

Dr. Tofu was about to go back to his work when he heard a knock on the clinic door. _'Huh? I guess Ranma must've forgotten something…' _He immediately went to the door and opened it to reveal a certain smiling white-haired teen.

"Hello sir, you wouldn't happen to be Dr. Ono Tofu, ne?" Ash asked innocently. His smile widened when the doctor nodded in response. "Good! I'd like to ask you one thing…"

* * *

Leona sighed as she sat up from her hospital bed. She grumbled slightly, wondering why she had to stay a week in a hospital. Yes, it has been a week since she regained her memories and she was both happy and sad at the whole thing. She has killed her fellow villagers, her friends and her parents. She can admit that to herself now rather than deny it like what she always did before she was reunited with Ranma. She's not proud of that fact, but because she has begun to accept it, she feels that she can now start to move on with her life.

Another thing that was good for her was the talk she had with her father figure, Heidern. She never could lie to him so she ended up telling him everything about her past up to the point when he found her all those years ago. He understood quite well and he said that he was sorry for bringing her into this line of work but she replied with a hug and said that she would never had survived without him and his support as a father throughout the years. She snapped out of her musings when she heard the door opening.

"Hey."

Leona's features brightened considerably, a smile quickly formed on her face. "Ranma!" 

Ranma smiled back as he approached Guidel's daughter. "What's the matter? Can't stand staying at a hospital for a long time?" he teased. 

The blue-haired girl bopped him on the head. "Don't you start with me again Ranchan and stop teasing me like that! You know I hate it when you do that…" she said, trying to sound angry and failing miserably. "What brings you here today, other than to tease me?"

"Oh not much, I just brought along someone that I thought you might want to see." Ranma said, going to the door and opening it slowly.

Leona's eyes widened when a familiar auburn-haired woman carrying a long bundle stepped inside the room. "Um… Auntie? Is that really you?"

"Yes dear, it's me. My, you've grown into a very fine lady Leona-chan." Nodoka said with a smile. She sat on a chair and began to talk to the enthusiastic blue-haired girl.

Ranma quietly left the room, not wanting to disturb their time together and he slowly closed the door behind him. He gently leaned on it and let off a sad sigh, the smile he had earlier was now replaced by a miserable frown.

"Human…"

* * *

***

_An image of a woman being tortured to death…_

***

Ranma clutched his head as he leaned on the wall for support. "I do understand… so… stop it already… I don't want to see it anymore."The pain intensified for a couple of seconds before it finally disappeared. Ranma took a few deep breaths to regain his composure. "Human… if those murderers are what you call human…"__

The Orochi half-breed had his head down as he walked towards the exit. He opened the door but stopped midway when he noticed a female figure standing infront of him. _'Déjà vu… might as well get this over with. There is only one fiancée left that I know of anyway.' _"Look, I don't want to be forced to marry anyone, I also don't want to be forced to be a slave in your tribe and I'm certainly not going to agree to anything you say, got that Shampoo?!"

"Excuse me but what are you talking about? What does marriage have to do with a hair product?"

Ranma quickly looked up and saw Chizuru standing there with a bewildered expression. The ponytailed boy had the decency to look embarrassed at his earlier outburst. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else." he quickly explained. He took a semi-guarded stance, trying to see if this woman was an illusion or not.

The Kagura priestess noted the wary look in Ranma's face. "You can relax… I'm not here to fight, though I'd like to have a word with you in private, Ranma Saotome." she requested hesitantly.

Ranma raised an eyebrow at the woman in front of him, wondering if this was the same woman who unceremoniously attacked him a few weeks ago. In the end, he finally sighed and decided to go along with the whole thing for now. Besides, he really needed to focus on something else right about now. "Sure…"

She led the Orochi half-breed to the building rooftop. The Kagura priestess went towards the railing and had a distant look on her face as she gazed at the street below them. After staying there for what seemed like hours, Chizuru finally turned and faced Ranma.

"Why…?"

Ranma gave her a puzzled look. "Why what?"

Chizuru looked down. "Why did you save me? You simply could've just allowed me to be fall to the bottom of the cliff. I know that I would've done it to you at that time…"

The ponytailed boy sighed and looked up to the sky, as if waiting for an answer from the gods… hell, any god other than his clan's at this moment. "Why? I dunno…"

"What do you…" she was cut off when Ranma placed a hand in front of her. 

Ranma gave her a sad smile and began to walk away. He opened the door and said one last thing to her. "I guess… I'm still trying to be human, no matter how hopeless it may be."

* * *

**Next Day, Docks**

_'__China__… I never thought that I'll be going back there under these circumstances, but I guess I have no choice.' _Ranma watched as the ship began to set sail. He stared down at the thousands of fans wishing their favorite fighters farewells and good luck. He then noticed two people staring at him. _'She's… awake…?'_

Nodoka was standing there at the side while supporting Akane, who was currently sitting in a wheelchair, tightly clutching a letter in her hands.

The two stared at each other until they were out of sight. Akane cried and clutched the letter closer to her chest while Ranma closed his eyes, turned around and did a simple wave. _'Ja na… it was never meant to be.'_

He opened his eyes and it turned violet along with the sudden coldness in his face. "I have to find that place if I want to at least have some peace of mind…"

* * *

***

_An image of Ranma facing the eight-headed monster Orochi…_

***

Ranma was twisting and turning in his chair, mumbling his clan's name in his sleep.

***

_The same image except Ranma was now replaced by a young boy…_

***

Ranma woke up when he felt that he was being shaken by someone. He looked up and saw a certain red-head trying to get him up and going. "Wha? Shermie? Why? What's wrong?"

Shermie pouted. "Ranma! You said that you're going to train me today and here I find you sleeping, wake up!" she yelled, although she was trying to suppress her laughter at the way Ranma's hair was standing up. 

The ponytailed boy rapidly scratched his head from irritation, earning a mirthful laugh from Shermie. He stared at her in wonder before he looked at himself through of a mirror. He paused for a minute and then started laughing along with her. "Fine… I'll meet you at the deck in ten minutes. Wait for me there, okay?

The twin ponytailed woman smiled and left his room afterwards. He chuckled a little bit more before sobering up, recalling the dream he just had.

_'What's happening to me…?"_

* * *

One man shared similar thoughts with the ponytailed boy…

"Damn it, what is happening to me?!"

Yashiro sat up from his bed, rubbing his head in pain. He really has no idea what was going on with him. He has been having these blurry yet consistent images in his dreams since last week and his head started throbbing since that time as well. He got up and put on some new clothes. He swallowed yet another aspirin and drank the whole glass of water in an instant. 

He shook his head in dismay. He really was a total jerk this week. He screamed at his two members a few days ago and said to their faces that he doesn't need their pity. He remembered Shermie and Chris' hurt look and cringed, he really has done it now. _'I'm sorry you two… I just don't want you to worry about me… ahhh!!!'_

The pain intensified anew, forcing him to aimlessly walk around the room, breaking everything he could get his hands on. He began coughing violently, his red eyes flashing in an instant. He repeatedly punched into the air, as if trying to fight an invisible enemy. He finally sat down and threw up on the floor, the pain has not subsided and he feels as if that it is getting stronger.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh! I can't take much more of this!" Yashiro was too busy minding the pain to notice that a large tremor occurred in sync with his shouting a moment ago…

* * *

**Deck**

"Hiyah!"

Ranma blocked Shermie's high kick. "That's good, but you should relax a bit more. Right now, you're too tense to successfully perform the move." _'I don't believe it… I'm actually training a girl properly. If this happened a few months ago, Shermie here would've malleted me like someone I know.'_

The red-head nodded and took a few deep breaths. She took a standard Anything Goes stance and performed a straight left punch followed by a high kick then a crouching leg sweep that got past Ranma's defense, causing him to fall to the floor. Shermie immediately celebrated by jumping up and down while raising her fist in the air.

For his part, Ranma simply smirked at the jumping red-head and swept her off her feet, making her fall on top of him. He locked gazes with her and smiled. "Anything Goes Shermie, you should watch your opponent's movements… you never know when they'll make their move."

Shermie giggled and poked Ranma's nose. "I'll be sure to remember that, sensei."

Ranma sighed as they got up. _'I wonder if we'll ever get past the basics, she can be so playful at times. But I have to say that her cheerful demeanor is really nice to have around.' _He dusted himself off and was about to resume training her when the tremor struck.

"Ah!"

"Whoa!"

*Crash!*

* * *

Chris walked onto the deck, mostly out of boredom. Ranma already said that those two techniques that he has were enough to get him going in his matches, the rest will all be up to him. He really was amazed at his own stamina right now as his stomach can take a few hundred of Ranma's Amaguriken punches right now even though his master was holding back some of his power. He sighed from boredom and was about to go back down when the tremor struck, causing him to lose his balance. "Ow…"

He rubbed his bottom as he got up. He was about to go downstairs again when he saw the scene at his side. His eyes widened and a grin quickly formed on his face. "Ohoho! I never would have thought that you have the guts to do this, in public no less, sensei!" he whistled, catching the attention of the two.

Chris blinked when he noticed the two dumbly looking at him. "Huh? Don't mind me, please continue with what you're doing!" he said excitedly. _'I guess I didn't have to resort to that after all.'_

Both Shermie and Ranma blinked at Chris' remark, they looked at each other and blinked again before they realize the position they were in. Shermie was currently sprawled on the floor; her arms were inadvertently being pinned to the ground by Ranma's hands and their legs were intertwined in a very provocative position. 

Ranma's eyes slowly began to widen along with his mouth, Shermie's were even more so, and her face was as bright as a tomato. The ponytailed boy quickly mumbled his apologies, got up from his position and hastily ran after his grinning student. "You're not interrupting anything! Chris! Come back here!"

* * *

"Hey, let's go sightseeing when we arrive in China, Kyo." Yuki exclaimed, grabbing Kyo's arm.

"I told you that this isn't a vacation Yuki…" _'I'm starting to regret bringing her along in this tournament.' _Kyo thought with a slight twitch. He blinked when he noticed a blue and black blur running past him. "What the…"

"Come back here you little runt!"

Kyo and Yuki stared at Ranma's literally flaming figure that was shooting a flame blast past them. Kyo stared dumbly at Ranma's back while the brown-haired girl has grown quite a sweat drop. "That's the guy that saved you from those thugs?" he asked incredulously. _'Great! I have to thank a Yagami! Geez…'_

Yuki nodded, still staring at the ponytailed boy's back. "Errr… yes. C'mon, let's go someplace else Kyo… Kyo?" she asked, tugging his shirt. She looked up and saw the scowl on the Kusanagi heir's face, she glanced at where he was staring at and froze.

Iori was casually leaning on a wall wearing a black trench coat and shades over his normal clothes, staring at the two with an amused expression. He chuckled slightly and summoned his purple flames before standing up and walking away, causing Kyo's scowl to deepen.

* * *

Blue Mary leaned forward on a railing and gazed at the sunset. She didn't know how long she zoned out but she knew that she made someone wait for her to snap out of her stupor. "Sorry about that, I kind of have gotten caught up in the moment. I have a tendency of doing that sometimes."

Terry shrugged, leaning on the railing as well. "It's no big deal. So… why did you take the dive? And what's this about Geese planning something?"

"I don't know much about the details but Geese has plans for this so called Orochi blood that has been the talk of most of the fighters in this tournament."

"How is this any different from what he has planned before?" The ponytailed blonde calmly asked.

Blue Mary frowned. "It's not much different except for one thing… Geese isn't getting any younger…"

Terry quickly tilted his head to the side. "What?"

"You heard me. He and his half-brother Krauser want that blood without its so-called 'side effects'. If the Yagami clan was doomed to have a short life span because of it then maybe it can be reversed. Knowing Geese, I think he might be crazy enough to actually try it. I don't know any more details about the side effects but it's clear that they want it for themselves. 

I had my suspicions about them before but I never really did paid much attention to them because I originally entered this tournament to find a woman named Diana, she's wanted mostly for hacking into top secret facilities in America. Last I heard she now works for an unknown group doing God knows what." Mary explained.

The ponytailed blonde contemplated on it. _'Eternal life? Geese, you're way over your head if that's what you're planning. Side effects… could it be the one that Yagami went through last year? Are you willing to take that big a risk?'_

* * *

**Hakkeshu Team Room**

"It was a misunderstanding, that idiot."

Ranma quietly entered his team's room, muttering curses along the way. He removed his shirt and shoes as he heads toward the shower. "Shower… yeah. I think I'll take a shower, I guess that should do the trick." he nervously said to himself. _'Still… those eyes… so…' _

The ponytailed boy shook his head rapidly. "No, don't go there Ranma. You have enough problems already."

He entered the shower room, dropping his clothes at the corner, not noticing another pile of clothes already in there. The blue-eyed boy was about to remove his pants when a cough caught his attention. He turned his head to the side to see a certain blonde in her naked glory. 

Ranma blinked once, twice and then a third time before finally realizing what he was staring at. He froze at the sight and gibberish was the only thing coming out of his mouth right now. He fought the urge to run when he saw the slightly serious look on his partner's face. 

Mature on the other hand, internally smirked at the nervous man infront of her. She slowly began to approach him, her calm façade turning into a seductive smile. "My… Ranma, I didn't know you were this straightforward…" she purred, causing the ponytailed boy to stammer even more.

"I-It's not what it looks like! I'm not a pervert or anything… eep!" he squeaked in surprise when Mature seemingly was trying to wrap her arms around his neck just as he was starting to back up. That's why he let off a huge sigh when the blonde showed him the bathrobe that she grabbed from behind him.

Mature covered herself up. "Ranma…" she began, making the boy tense once more. "Please tell me if you're going to do this again… so I can wait for you inside the shower next time." she whispered into his ear. She then gave him a smile and a wink as she got out of the room.

Ranma stayed frozen even after Mature left the room. He then sat down hard on the tiled floor, his eyes still wide from shock. He nervously laughed to himself as he spoke. "This is not my day…"

* * *

**China******

It's been 2 days but the King of Fighters Tournament has finally arrived in China. The fighters immediately got out of the ship and onto dry land, eager to participate in the next matches. Athena was supporting Kensou into the nearest town. The teenage boy was obviously in some pain while Chin was being transported to a local hospital.

Andy got out of his room and was being supported by Mai, with Terry and Joe following closely behind. Apparently he hasn't fully recovered from those stab wounds from his previous match with Yamazaki.

Chizuru was talking to her other partner, King along with her servant Reiko, perhaps planning on their upcoming match. Iori seemed to have vanished to who knows where, so did Yashiro while and Kyo, Benimaru and Goro were dragged by Yuki inside the town for some sight seeing. The same goes for Chris, who got roped into showing Shermie around town since he did visit this place not too long ago.

"China… it's been so long." Ranma finished sadly.

Mature noticed the disturbed look on her partner's face. She gently nudged Ranma to get his attention. "Is something bothering you Ranma? You look out of it since we arrived here."

Ranma didn't answer her nor did he even look at her, he just hung his head. Mature got irritated by the lack of response and was about to grab Ranma's shoulder but the ponytailed boy started walking away from the ship and into the town. 

"Mature, I'll be gone for a day or two. We don't have any matches in our week of stay here so it should be no problem, right?" he said, glancing at Mature over his shoulder.

"Ah… right." was all she could say.

Vice stood by the blonde's side a couple of minutes later. "Now where is he going? Hey, Mature! Where is your partner headed? Sight seeing? Huh? Hey, snap out of it!" she shouted, waving a hand at the blonde's face.

Mature glanced at her. "I don't know, but I guess we can leave him be for now."

The red-head shrugged. "Yes… for now. By the way, how do you feel after your match? Any changes?" she asked curiously.

"Not much, but I am feeling a bit refreshed after fighting the Ikari Team." Mature chuckled. 

"I see…" Vice chuckled back.

* * *

**Mt.****Kensei******

"Listen, our orders were to observe Vice and Mature along with anyone who has come into contact with them the most, that being Saotome and Yagami." Clark raised a hand infront of Guidel's daughter before she could even voice out her protest. "Leona, I know this doesn't seem right to you, him being your friend and all but orders are orders, we cannot disobey them especially if the lives of innocents are at stake."

Leona thought about it and glumly agreed. "I understand sir but our orders are to watch his movements, we will not get involved directly, am I right?"

Clark nodded. "That's right. If he does not prove to be a threat then we will back off but we'll still watch him carefully, you'll never know what they might do."

"Yeah, the Orochi clan sure can be merciless killers!" Ralf idiotically added in, causing Clark to elbow his sides. He turned to Leona and saw the hurt look on her face. "I-ah…"

The blue-haired girl shook her head. "It's all right, I know what I am and what clan I came from." she whispered before she walked away. 

Clark removed his shades and he smacked Ralf on the head with his cap. "Idiot! You heard the story commander Heidern told us and you were still stupid enough to go and say something like that! You should go after her and apologize you dolt… that's an order."

Ralf hung his head for his stupidity and went after the other Orochi half-breed.

* * *

**Jusenkyo****, ****China******

"Oh! Kind sir! Welcome again to Jusenkyo!" The guide happily said in his native tongue. 

"Hello, it is good to see you too." Ranma replied in perfect Chinese.

_After leaving the kind couple that took me in, I wandered around __China__ for who knows how long and somehow ended right back here at Jusenkyo. The guide and his daughter __Plum__ immediately prayed to purify the evil spirits or something like that when they first saw me but a quick slap on his face was proof enough that I'm not dead._

"Are the springs…?"

The guide nodded. "Yes, a lot of springs are going back to normal and I think that nannichuan has been restored too. Wait a minute please… I'll get the barrel for you."

_Jusenkyo dried up because of Saffron but it seems that my fight with the __Phoenix__ god and that dragon tap ended up getting back the water but to the point that it overflowed, flooding the entire area. The spring water mixed with each other, making it impossible to get a cure that time but now the guide says that the springs are going back to normal and a few springs were actually useful now._

Ranma crossed his arms. "What about the amazons? They're not causing you any trouble are they?"

The guide came back with a barrel of nannichuan. "No kind sir, we kept our mouth shut from the whole thing. I can't thank you enough for what you've done."

_Oh, the amazons never did find out about me from them. I helped them get a few rare gems from __Mt.__Kensei__ and in return, they'd shut up about this whole thing. You can add to that deal the small chat we had which I recall saying to his face that I single-handedly destroyed __Mt.__Phoenix__, I guess it worked._

"Here is the nannichuan. You will be cured from your curse at last."

"Wait… Are you sure this will cure me? I mean, Taro said that he splashed his back with another curse and it mixed with his first, it did not cancel the first one at all." he informed the guide, shuddering at the thought of what the outcome might be if he splashed himself with nannichuan.

The guide nodded. "Ah I see, that Taro boy. Nannichuan will cure you because it is your true from before you were cursed. The curses will only mix when you get splashed by another curse, one that isn't your original form."

The ponytailed boy nodded in understanding. _'I see… if I get splashed by the spring of drowned hawk, I'll turn into a human… errr… demon female with wings and maybe then some.'_ Ranma stared at the barrel. "Thank you but please keep it for me a little longer, I still have one place left to go to before I return…" he finished sadly, staring at the flowers in his hand.

"I understand, take care."

_Normally, I would be jumping for joy that I finally have nannichuan in my grasp. I guess when you found out that you're only half-human (Though I'm having my doubts if that panda is really human at all), being cured of having a gender-changing curse doesn't seem all that great to me now._

* * *

**Mt.****Phoenix**** Ruins**

Ranma had his hair untied as he entered Mt. Phoenix, his hair covering most of his face. He could still feel it, the hunger he felt at that time and their useless cries for help. He could still remember the stench of death all over his very being after everything was over. 

***

_"What kind of monster are you?!"_

***

Ranma knelt infront of the mountain ruins, causing his hair to cover his entire face. He chuckled slightly as he stared at the bouquet of flowers he was currently holding in his hands, what a pitiful attempt at redemption. He knew that he will never be forgiven for his crimes to these people yet a part of him, the one trying to be human, wanted to at least show these people that he was suffering as well.

***

_"Spare my child! I beg you! Ahhh!"_

***

The wind picks up and moved his hair to the side to reveal his sorrowful violet eyes. The one thing that continued to haunt him even now was those children. Their terrified looks when he approached them and their cries of pain and pleas for mercy echoed deep within his very soul. _'They were just children… they didn't deserve to die… no one did. A part of me mourned for them yet another part of me wanted them dead.'_

***

_"What are you really? Make up your mind Ranma…" a voice in his head whispered._

***

Ranma placed one hand on his face while the other was on the cold ground grasping some of the dirt and his body was trembling slightly. He couldn't hold it anymore, tears started to fall down his face as he recalled the incident like it happened only yesterday. _'What am I? Somebody… please… help me…'_

"What am I?"

* * *

***

_"Ranchan?"___

_"Yeah?"___

_"You said that you can recall the things that you did when you go through that Riot of Blood. Do you… remember everything when you were in that state?"_

_"Yeah… I remember everything. From the look of fear in their eyes to the blood curling screams they made as they die… everything… in fact, we're headed there right now… in China…"_

***

"Ranchan…" Leona was about to go to Ranma's side but stopped when she was grabbed from behind by Clark. She struggled at first but soon sighed dejectedly, a mission is still a mission.

"Leona…" Clark began.

The blue-haired girl nodded. "I know sir, this mission takes priority. It's just that… he's had it worse than me, he's suffering a whole lot worse than what I used to do…" she said sadly. 

Ralf had a curious look. "Why is that?"

"He can actually remember everything his body was doing when he goes into the Riot of Blood. He recalls his time in that state very clearly, unlike me so he knew what he did and he was forced to look into the eyes of the people he killed… I want to help him! He got my life back for me and I want to do everything I can to do the same for him!" she yelled, unaware of the tears falling down her face.

Clark adjusted his shades and shook his head. "No… we can't get involved. It is a direct order from Commander Heidern so we have to follow it to the last detail." he said, although he wished that he hadn't.

Leona clenched her fists tightly before slumping back. "Understood… but there is nothing more to see here sir. Ranma Saotome was just placing flowers at the place where he killed a race of people while he was under the influence of the Riot of Blood so I request we leave now sir." she said bitterly.

Ralf winced at the tone Leona used and so did Clark. "Yeah, I guess we'll fallback. Right, Clark?" he said with a glare to the cringing man beside him.

"Uh, yes, you're right. Let's go back to our quarters for the time being."

Leona took one last look at the sulking figure kneeling on the ground. "Ranchan…"

* * *

**Jusenkyo**

Ranma walked back to the cursed training grounds of Jusenkyo. He stopped and stared at the figures that suddenly appeared infront of him. One has tiger skin wrapped around his waist and he has striped shoulder and leg guards. Another wore simple Chinese clothing, he was wearing a small furry animal hat and he had a large sword strapped at his back. The last one was wearing regal dragon scale armor complete with a long cape; he stood there at the middle, smirking at him as he studied them one by one.

"Oh this is rich! I never thought that the power I felt long ago was coming from you."

"Herb…" he snarled, blue-eyes flashing. _'Did I ever hate him this much?'_

The dragon prince stepped forward, crossed arms and all. "It's been a long time, Ranma Saotome. Though I'd never expected you see you here in China and I truly never would have expected you to have demon's blood flowing inside your body." he calmly said.

"How did you?"

Herb just laughed at Ranma's shocked face. "Hahaha! I am a ki master Saotome, or have you forgotten that little fact? When Mt. Phoenix was destroyed, the entire place reeked of demonic aura, similar to the one I sensed long ago. At first I thought that insolent child Saffron must've barked up the wrong tree and challenged a demon lord to a fight but now that I've seen you and your… shall we say 'changes', I now know what really happened at Mt. Phoenix. You were the one that killed them, right? You killed the entire Phoenix race and in such a spectacular fashion too. I mean… fire pillars? The whole mountain light up like a light bulb! It was a sight to see, especially their ashes… quite fitting for a Phoenix." 

"SHUT UP!" Ranma shouted, summoning his purple flames. His eyes looked like they'd burn a hole through the dragon prince's soul. "Herb, you have no right to speak to them that way…"

"Oh, and you have a right to kill them?" Herb snorted. "Don't try to be all divine and holy with me Saotome. Personally, I really don't blame you for what you did. That power hungry brat Saffron has been a thorn on these lands for a long time now so it's not surprising if he got on your nerves that easily. In any case, I'm pretty sure that the entire Musk dynasty and even the Joketsuzoku are very grateful to you for doing them a favor."

Herb quickly held a palm up to deflect Ranma's ki blast. "Oh? You not only have the demon's blood, you have received its strength too. Last time we met, you barely could even scratch me with any of your tricks." he said, gazing intently at his slightly burnt hand. "You only won because I was careless. You won Saotome, because of my foolish mistake."

_'I don't understand… why does he irritate me so much?!' _"I just got better, we call it training Herb. Maybe you could use some of it yourself… you're pathetic as far as I can tell. Are you sure you're the one that kicked my ass a few months ago? If so then shut up and prove it once more, dragon prince. Or are you really just all talk?" he taunted, his hand motioning for Herb to make the first move. 

Mint and Lime were ready to strike the Orochi half-breed but was stopped by Herb's outstretched arm. "This is my fight. No one shall interfere, understood? Mint, Lime, make sure that no one else is in the area. I have a feeling that Jusenkyo may never be the same after this is over."

Both Musk warriors nodded and immediately carried the Jusenkyo guide and his daughter away from the cursed springs.

Herb shot Ranma a cold glare. "You dare insult me, you obnoxious insect? Very well, I'll take pleasure in seeing you writhe in pain!" 

* * *

"Aiyah! They're starting!" Plum exclaimed, pointing at the floating dragon prince.

Herb flew up and threw a ki blast at one of the newly restored springs, causing the water in it to head towards the irate ponytailed boy. 

Ranma summoned his flames and hit the oncoming water with everything he's got, causing it to simply disperse in the air. Like what Herb does to his ki, Ranma aimed his hand below the hovering dragon prince and shot his flame there. He then willed it to go up, like a ricochet, and managed to burn Herb's cape.

The dragon prince glided to the side and landed on the ground, removing his burnt cape. "This is interesting, I never did get a chance to face you as a male, I guess now is good a chance as any." Herb said with a smirk. The white-haired man summoned his ki towards his right hand and a blade made out of pure ki soon formed around it. "Whenever you're ready…"

Ranma dashed forward. He spun and performed a roundhouse kick which Herb casually blocked with his free arm and countered with a sword lunge with his energy covered arm, grazing the Orochi half-breed at his upper left arm.

Herb flew up and attempted a downward slash but Ranma hopped backwards, narrowly avoiding the blow. The Orochi half-breed quickly countered with a series of rights and lefts to Herb's defenseless face and finished it up with a spinning kick that sent the dragon prince flying towards one of the springs. Herb regained his senses just in time to glide over the spring and land safely on the ground. "I guess that's enough of the warm-up… now for the real thing!" 

The Orochi half-breed frantically jumped all over the place, trying to avoid Herb's barrage of homing ki blasts. He found himself backed up in a corner so he covered his entire body with his sacred flame and allowed the ki blasts to do their damage.

Herb noticed that Ranma was only partially wounded at his assault. He tensed when Ranma cupped his hands and began to run towards him but was surprised when Ranma seemed to slow down midway.

_'What?!'___

***

_In a place controlled by darkness, two figures can barely be seen at the middle. One is an eight-headed serpent, its heads clamping onto what looks like a body of a large animal which soon revealed itself as a magnificent white dragon, its teeth mercilessly gnawing on the serpent's body…_

***

Ranma screamed, stopping midway through his charge. He began to randomly walk around, all the while screaming and shaking his head. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"

_'So, it's taking over. Hmph, it's not much different than what we of animal descent go through.'_ Herb thought, his face suddenly darkening. He raised a questioning eyebrow when the sky darkened just as the boy's aura did but he paid no real heed to it.

The Orochi half-breed kneeled down and repeatedly slammed his fists onto the ground. "I don't want it! I don't want it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" _'No, no, no, no!'_

* * *

_When he calls, one must respond…_

* * *

"Gwaaaahhhhh!" Ranma screamed, his body arching backwards. Blood gushed out of his mouth, his hair changed to crimson with a tint of white at the tip. His eyes took a soulless violet hue, his teeth and fingers noticeably sharpened and his skin started to turn pale. Riot of Blood Ranma howled, looking up to the heavens all the while spewing his own blood all over his body.

Mint and Lime took a step back. Obviously their instincts knew better than to face this hybrid, it has some similarities to their animal blood yet it is different at the same time. The Jusenkyo Guide and his daughter just ran away in fear. They knew about this certain condition since Ranma already told them about it a few months back but they didn't realize that it was this serious, he's acting like a crazed animal and they could tell that his only true desire is to kill.

Herb, for his part, watched the transformation with curiosity more than anything else. _'So this is what one with demon blood goes through.' _He thought solemnly.

***

_"You… Failure! You pathetic child! I told you to get it right this time!"_

_"I don't want to do it anymore father! I can't control it! It's burning me!"_

_"No excuses Herb! You are of Dragon's blood, you will learn to control yourself or you will DIE trying! I refuse to have such a pathetic weakling for a child!"_

***

The dragon prince clenched his teeth, his fists shaking with rage upon recalling that horrid memory. "Come on Saotome! Attack me! Show me that power that flows within you! Hit me with everything you've got!"

* * *

Riot of Blood Ranma jumped at him but Herb evaded it by casually gliding to the side. Ranma landed hard on the ground, causing a few nearby springs to send out their cursed water upwards like a geyser. He snarled and turned around, only to receive a large ki blast courtesy of the dragon prince. He quickly recovered and did a back flip to avoid landing in one of the springs, he looked up and growled at his opponent.

"What's wrong? Is one with dragon's blood too much for you Ranma?" Herb taunted while floating in front of the Orochi berserker. Herb's gloating stopped when Ranma howled at the same exact time that the earth trembled. His curiosity getting the better of him, Herb swooped down and carefully observed the howling boy. He stayed at that spot long enough to allow the boy to cover him in a pillar of fire, Herb screamed as he crashed onto the ground.

Ranma hunched over, his breathing was heavy and steam was literally coming out of his mouth. He slowly looked to his side and saw that the nearby springs were producing steam as well due to his last attack. He then turned towards Herb but all he saw was a blur going right past him.

"Ryu Sei Hisho! (1)"

Herb spun and faced the berserker's back, who was currently receiving simultaneous blows to his sides. His eyes widened slightly when Ranma merely shrugged off the attacks like they were nothing.

The Orochi berserker growled, making the ground shake once more. He raised his arms in the air and summoned his purple flames, he snarled as he slammed hands on the ground. His sacred flame spread around the cursed springs, the height of the flames rising by the second, trapping both warriors inside Jusenkyo… inside a flaming prison. 

"What a foolish and ignorant move Saotome. You basically created your own grave, though I can't blame you, especially with your lack of sanity right now. Thanks for making this a lot easier for me!" Herb shouted as he begins a familiar spiral motion, gliding over the springs as he did so.

Ranma followed Herb around the spiral. He was able to catch Herb very quickly but the dragon prince continued the spiral motion, dragging the Orochi berserker along for the ride. Ranma roared as he latched onto Herb from behind and literally bit the dragon descendant on the shoulder, breaking a part of Herb's shoulder guard in the process.

Herb screamed when Ranma sunk his teeth deeper into his skin. His eyes went blank when Riot of Blood Ranma chewed a chunk of his skin out and spat it to the side. Ranma was about to bite him again but he quickly placed a hand in front of the berserker's face and blasted him a couple of times with small energy bursts, making the berserker stagger slightly. 

The dragon prince ignored the pain on his shoulder and the pain he was feeling on his body when Ranma sunk his fingers deeper into his other arm and into his stomach, like an animal refusing to let go of his prey. Herb struck Ranma's face with his elbow a couple of times until it finally forced the berserker to let go of his hold. He managed to smirk when he planted his feet on the ground, right at the center of a spiral…

"Die with your own move, Hiryu Shoten Ha!"

* * *

The hurricane was enormous, sucking in the flames, the water at a nearby cursed spring into it and the hurricane was now heading towards the other springs. Herb immediately flew out of the hurricane, leaving Ranma alone inside it. He hovered in front of the tornado with his arms glowing with ki. "It's over! Hito Ryu-zan Ha! (2)"

A number of arc shaped ki blades went inside the hurricane. Herb smiled when the hurricane turned into a mixture of purple flames, cursed water and thick crimson blood. Although that smile soon faltered as he heard an inhuman howl coming from inside the hurricane. _'Impossible! Didn't the Jusenkyo water hit him?!' _ 

A very wet and female Ranma did a swinging motion with her arms that swiftly split the hurricane apart, canceling it out before it got the chance to suck up anymore spring water. She snarled before kneeling down, obviously in great pain. Large cuts and gashes were all over her body, and their depth was nothing to laugh at either.

Herb though, began laughing his head off at the sheer irony of it all. "Of all the stupid luck… it just had to be the spring of drowned girl that got sucked up into that hurricane. I must admit that I was kind of hoping that you'll be cursed to be a frog or a snake… anything other than a curse that you already have but it seems that fate has already decided!"

Blood Riot Onna-Ranma tried to stand up but the wounds acted up, making her fall face first to the ground. She tried one more time, and met the ground one more time. She kept doing this over and over. It seems that her only real desire now is to fight and kill the one she fights and she will not stop until she either does it or she'll die trying.

***

_"Well done but you don't have what it takes to rule, failure! Obviously you're as weak as your mother!"_

_"Damn you! Die!"_

_"Gwah!__ You'll never have the throne you weakling! Even if I perish, you will live the rest of your miserable life as the failure that you are!" _

***

Herb sobered, grasping his injured shoulder. He walked up to Onna-Ranma and stomped on her head. "Pathetic, you can't even control your instincts. If you can hear me Saotome, know this…whether it is dragon's blood or demon's blood, it makes no difference! You will live a life of suffering if you can't control yourself but if this is the limit of your abilities… that only proves that you're nothing but a failure! You're nothing but a weakling! You don't even deserve to walk this world!"

_'I see myself in you…'_

"You coward…is it convenient to run away and let this…monster out? If that's the case then you really don't deserve to live… I'll do the world a favor and end your life right now." Herb had a maniacal look as he summoned his energy sword. He raised his arm and was about to chop Onna-Ranma's head off when he heard a very loud heartbeat. He looked down to see Onna-Ranma trying to get up once more and Herb noticed that Onna-Ranma's energy was fluctuating, it was changing every heartbeat. 

Onna-Ranma shook off Herb's foot off her head. "I…am not…A COWARD!!!"

_'Yes, you're not a coward… not like me… damn you father…'_

Herb was pushed backwards. "Ugh… you actually did it… you regained your senses…" he said as blood trickled down his mouth. "You're not… a… coward… after all…" Large amounts of blood suddenly gushed out of his body. His clothes and armor were torn and he had four huge and deep diagonal slashes to his chest along with a couple of small cuts on his entire body. His eyes went blank as his body fell lifelessly to the ground.

Onna-Ranma fell back to the ground as well, her vision slowly darkening. The last thing she saw was two figures running up to their downed bodies. 

"HERB!!!"

* * *

Ranma timidly opened his eyes and found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. He groaned when he tried to move his body, apparently his wounds were not so giving. 

"You're awake already?!"

The blue-eyed boy turned to his side and saw a smiling Mint looking down at him. "Mint? What are you doing? What happened? Where am I?" he muttered, trying to ignore the pain he was feeling.

Mint sighed. "We're at the Jusenkyo guide's house, did you forget already? You were only knocked out for a few minutes! How can you not remember what happened?" 

Ranma stared at Mint before it kicked in. "Right… the battle… oh! What happened to Herb?! Is he all right?!" he immediately asked in concern, not noticing that he was already up on his feet. 

"See for yourself…"

Herb was resting on the guide's bed, severely wounded. Lime did a pretty good job patching the dragon prince up considering the lack of medicinal items at the house.

"I'm sorry…" Ranma whispered.

Lime placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Don't be… Ranma, take a good look at Herb's face. In all our time together, we never saw that look on his face, and we thank you for that."

Ranma's eyes widened as he stared at the sleeping prince. Herb had a small smile on his face, he looked so content with himself, so… at peace. It was nothing like the angry dragon prince he remembered when he was still under the influence of the Riot of Blood. Mint and Lime walked out of the house a few minutes later, carrying the unconscious Herb by the shoulders with Ranma following closely behind.

"Although Prince Herb will not admit it, you are a worthy adversary Ranma. I hope we can meet on a more… peaceful atmosphere next time." Lime said. Respect was evident in his words.

Ranma managed a smile. "Yeah, I hope so. I would like to know you guys better as friendly rivals, not as enemies." he said. The Orochi half-breed was still in extreme pain, his breathing was still erratic and he could sense that his ki was still drained to its limit. _'I'm not surprised. Considering how this battle turned out…'_

"We hope so too. Thank you once again Ranma." Mint replied, bowing to the ponytailed boy.

"Yeah! You sure you're alright?" Lime asked, eyeing the deep gashes on the half-breed's body.

Ranma chuckled. "I'll live… so don't worry about me but I think you should bring Herb to a healer quickly." Mint and Lime nodded and carried the unconscious Prince by the shoulders and back to the Musk Kingdom. Ranma watched as the three vanish from sight. _'Thank you…'_

"Ranma." a voice called out from behind.

Ranma turned around, his body jerked back as a sword went into his stomach and out his back. His eyes were wide in shock, his vision immediately blurred when he felt the full brunt of the attack. His hands trembled as he instinctively grasped the long blade; blood started spilling out the wound and began to flow down the sword and onto the hilt. He took a couple of steps back and focused his eyes on the crouching cloaked figure. 

"Die!"

The figure's cloak was suddenly ripped off from behind. Ranma's eyes widened even more when the figure stepped up and looked at him with those murderous eyes. He trembled in shock when he saw the scarred face of someone he knew, someone who has all the rights in the world to kill him.

"Kiima…"

The sound of wings fluttering echoed throughout the cursed springs of Jusenkyo…

* * *

(1) – Ryu Sei Hisho Dragon Spirit Flight (Emphasis on 'spirit' ^^; for those that got it, good job)

(2) – Hito Ryu-zan Ha Flying Blades Dragon Slice Wave

**# # #**

**AN: **Really sorry for taking this long, had some RL problems. The fic is becoming a lot more serious and a bit dark now, especially in the next few chapters, where more secrets regarding certain characters will be revealed.The next update will be in about a day or two. Ja ne!

**Next Interlude III: Unforgivable Sin**

_Please! Let this be all a dream! Please! _


	15. Interlude III: Unforgivable Sin

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! *WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!* Ugh… shutting up now… oi… 

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

**Interlude III: Unforgivable Sin**

* * *

**A few months ago…**

Riot of Blood Ranma snarled at the Phoenix people. _'More… feed me with your anger! More! Hate me! Loathe me! Hahahaha! Every one of you shall die!!!_

"MONSTER!"

"DEMON!"

"KILL HIM!"

Riot of Blood Ranma jumped over the downward attacks. With his hands covered in purple flames, he spreads his arms, allowing the flames to surround the entire area. He then dove for the Phoenix people and began slashing wildly at them, not caring whether they would get a hit or two on him. 

Kiima flew up and froze at the scene in front of her. Her people, her tribe… being murdered one by one… this… monster was killing everything that moves, and they were powerless to do anything against him, it seemed that challenging this human proved to be their undoing. She pulled out her sword, clenched it tight and assumed an attacking stance. "Everyone, duck!" she yelled to the rest of the Phoenix people.

Her wings flapped once and then arched backwards. "Thousand Wings of the Seabird Attack!!!" Countless vacuum blades struck Riot of Blood Ranma, causing large gashes and lacerations but it did not even faze the Orochi berserker one bit. In fact, Kiima thought that she heard the Orochi berserker laugh at her latest attack.

"Koruma! Masara! Hold him down!" she ordered. The two Phoenix warriors nodded quickly and engaged the Orochi berserker. Ranma had a sick smile plastered on his face as he gripped their necks, ripped out their throats and then set them on fire with his purple flames. The pigtailed boy spewed some blood into the sky before he continued with his assault.

His hands buried themselves into the Phoenix people's flesh, tearing it away with unbelievable force. Kiima couldn't stand it anymore so she performed a suicidal lunge at Ranma. "DIE YOU MONSTER!!!" 

Unfortunately for her, the pigtailed boy clamped his hand onto her face. Kiima struggled to remove the hold but it was a futile effort. Ranma slashed her face with his fingers and to add insult to injury, he set her on fire. Kiima screamed in agony as she clutched her disfigured face, she frantically ran around, trying to extinguish the flames on her body. The white-haired woman's cries was cut short when she accidentally ran towards the end of the cliff, she screamed one last time before falling to her expected demise…

* * *

"Uhhh…" Kiima groaned as she started to wake up. She looked around and saw that she was on the beach, probably at the bottom of Phoenix Mountain. _'Where…? Did the tide carry me ashore? The battle…!' _Her thoughts were cut short when her wounds made themselves known. Her scarred face started to bleed and her wings have been slashed, making it impossible for her to fly right now and her body was covered with burn marks.

"Ahhh! Damn you… Saotome Ranma…" she trailed off as she lost consciousness once more.

Kiima woke up once again. Her body was still in intense pain. She curled up into a ball and cried her eyes out. She failed, she has failed everyone… she failed to guide their ruler to the right path and even supported him in his selfish goals for power. Now that failure led to this, her entire tribe destroyed by that… thing, that monster. _'Dammit! Dammit… damn me…'_

She managed to get up on her feet by sheer willpower. She staggered a little at first but soon got her act together. Her face bled anew, she tried to cover it with her hand and continued to walk back to Phoenix Mountain. She arrived at the bottom a few hours later, she was about to trudge forward until she saw a couple of Amazons coming down the mountain. _'Wh-what are they doing here?! No… please no…'_

"Great-grandmother… Airen is… Airen is…" Shampoo said in between sobs.

Cologne sighed. "There is nothing we can do child, son-in-law has left this world." she finished sadly.

Ryoga was too busy clenching his fists to respond to that, he still couldn't believe that Ranma is dead. Mousse offered a shoulder to cry on for Shampoo and for once, the purple-haired girl did not object to it. Genma was busy bawling his eyes out while saying his 'what did I do to deserve such an ungrateful boy?' crap. The rest of the Amazons had their head down in respect to the fallen warrior that did the impossible, even if he is a male. 

Kiima, who was hiding among the trees, feared the worst for her tribe. She waited for the Amazons to take their leave before she ran with all her remaining might towards the top of Mount Phoenix. _'Please! Let this all be a dream! Please!'_

What she saw shocked her to the core, ashes… ashes everywhere. The stench of death fills the air, her entire tribe's ashes… _'The bastard burned everyone?! The children too, what kind of monster are you?! Ranma!!!'_

"No…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" 

Kiima punched the ground repeatedly all the while grasping some of the ashes on it. Tears flowed down her good eye as she knelt at the center of the ruins in despair. She slammed her fists on the ground. "I swear to you all… if that bastard is still alive… I will hunt him down and I will make him suffer the likes of which he has never seen! I will kill everyone that he holds dear and I will make his life a living hell!" she shouted with vehemence.

She got up and stretched her wings, not minding the pain that it causes. She looked up to the heavens and said. "Do you hear me, Saotome?! I will make you pay! I don't care how long it takes, I will keep my promise!"

* * *

**A few weeks ago…**

Kiima flew under the moonlit night. Her entire face has been scarred, that monster actually did a pretty good job at disfiguring her. She has four diagonal slashes which resulted in the loss of her left eyesight as well. She scowled at the unwanted memory and gritted her teeth when she thought of the pain that her people have suffered. Her scowl was soon replaced with a sick smile. Today is the day that her tribe would get their revenge at that man… she would make sure of that.

She looked around below her, trying to find the place that she loathes with a passion. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted it, she swooped down and quietly landed on the rooftop. She checked around to see if anybody saw her, finding no one in sight, she swooped down and peeked at the windows.

She first saw a long-haired woman sleeping comfortably on her bed. She turned her head in disgust and went towards the next window in which a short-haired girl was slumped on her desk. The girl seemed to have tired herself out from counting the money beside her. She flew to the next window and a smile formed on her face. Finally, it was the one she was looking for! "I'll start with her and her entire family…"

Kiima crept inside the room of Akane Tendo. She stared at the sleeping form of the youngest Tendo for quite some time but her eyes seemed to waver every now and then the same time that her hands paused when she started to reach for her weapon. The scarred woman snarled and shook herself out of it; she was here for one thing only. She quickly pulled out the dagger and raised it up high. She was about to stab the blue-haired girl when she heard her talking in her sleep…

"Uhn, Ranma… I miss you… why did you… have to… die." she mumbled in her sleep.

The white-haired woman stared at Akane a bit longer before she cursed and placed her dagger away. She stretched her wings and flapped it once, causing the wind to brush the sleeping girl's hair. Akane mumbled as she starts to wake up, she got up and rubbed her eyes. She stopped however, when she felt the cold breeze coming from her still open window. 

"R-Ranma?! Is that you? Ranma?!" she asked, running up to the open window.

"Akane-chan, what's the matter? Are you alright, imouto-chan?" Kasumi quickly asked in concern, knocking loudly on her sister's front door.

Akane dejectedly bowed her head. "Yes, I'm alright Kasumi-oneechan. It was just a dream… it was just a hopeless dream…" she sadly replied. She slowly closed her window, went back to bed and cried herself to sleep.

Kiima watched as the Tendo girl closed her window. She covered herself up with a dark cloak and proceeded to leave the town of Nerima. _'It's useless to kill them if he does not suffer for it.' _

* * *

**A couple of hours ago…**

**China**

Kiima was calmly drinking her tea at a local restaurant in China, she wore her usual dark cloak and her scarred face was kept hidden under the hood. She was about to leave when she heard the name of the man she thought that she would never hear again…

"Man, I can't believe the King of Fighters tournament this year! The fights are intense! And there are a lot of powerful new teams and fighters in this tournament too!" a man said.

"Yeah, that new fighter Ranma Saotome and his babe of a partner Mature are a deadly pair to say the least! They thrashed the Ikari Team for crying out loud! I never thought that they would be defeated that easily, considering how far they got last year." another man replied.

Kiima dropped her cup from shock, causing some customers to look at her. She held her hood closer to her face, not wanting to make a scene in public, and began to listen intently to the conversation.

"Don't forget Yagami and his partner Vice, I'll never forget the way he went crazy last year! I had to hide inside a locker to escape those sharp fingers of his and I can still see those lifeless eyes that seem to bore through my very soul." The man said, shivering at the memory of Riot of Blood Iori.

The other man nodded. "Yeah… that was scary. Anyway, the next couple of matches will take place here in China right? Oh, I can't wait to see the fighters! Especially the girls!" the man said enthusiastically.

That was all the information the white-haired girl needed. She stood up and immediately left the restaurant. _'That demon is still alive?! I cannot allow it! He must pay for his crimes against my tribe, my race! Only then will my people be finally able to rest in peace.'_

* * *

**Present Time**

**Jusenkyo****, ****China******

Kiima watched as two of her tribe's enemies fought it out. She hoped that at least one of them would kill the other; it would certainly bring a smile to her face. She heard the loud heartbeat coming from Onna-Ranma, making her tremble with rage. How could she forget, that was the first thing she heard after Ranma killed their Phoenix god Saffron. Kiima began muttering curses when she saw the Musk warriors Mint and Lime hastily ran towards the bodies and carried not only Herb but that demon as well inside the Jusenkyo guide's house.

Patience was never her strong point, not after everything that has happened. That's why she was trying so hard to control herself. Her desire to kill the man that destroyed her race was greater than anything in the world and the fact that she has him right where she wanted him was too much. She was about to barge in there and perform a suicidal attack but stopped when the four men began to leave the house.

"Although Prince Herb will not admit it, you are a worthy adversary Ranma. I hope we can meet on a more… peaceful atmosphere next time." Lime said. Respect was evident in his words.

Ranma managed a smile. "Yeah, I hope so. I would like to know you guys better as friendly rivals, not as enemies." he said. The Orochi half-breed shakily stood up, his breathing was still erratic and he could sense that his ki was still drained to its limit. _'I'm not surprised. Considering how this battle turned out…'_

"We hope so too. Thank you once again Ranma." Mint replied, bowing to the ponytailed boy.

"Yeah! You sure you're alright?" Lime asked, eyeing the deep gashes on the half-breed's body.

Ranma chuckled. "I'll live… so don't worry about me but I think you should bring Herb to a healer quickly." Mint and Lime nodded and carried the unconscious Prince by the shoulders and back to the Musk Kingdom. Ranma watched as the three vanish from sight. _'Thank you…'_

_Finally, my tribe's cry for vengeance shall be fulfilled!_

"Ranma." Kiima called out from behind.

Kiima ducked down, sword in hand and waited for the Orochi half-breed to turn and face her. Her eyes flashed with rage as the man turned and faced her. She buried her weapon deep inside Ranma's body, causing it to go into his stomach and out his back.

"Die!" she screamed, twisting the sword, causing the Orochi half-breed to scream in pain.

_Everyone, it will all be over soon…_

She stretched her wings, causing her cloak to be ripped in half. She stepped up and glared at the demon that ruined everything, the demon that destroyed her life and the lives of her family and friends. She flapped her wings wildly as she slowly walked towards the wounded man.

"Kiima…" was all Ranma could say.

_I will keep my promise…_

"Ranma, you will die here and now…"

* * *

**AN: **Just retelling the incident at Phoenix Mountain with a few more details and a bit of a side story on Kiima. I know, I'll get back to writing the next chapter right now…

**Next Chapter Angel of Vengeance**

_"Go to hell! You monster! My people… my family and friends… I'll make you pay with your life!!!"_


	16. Angel of Vengeance

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! *WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!* Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 13: **Angel of Vengeance**

* * *

The tournament matches have already begun in Kowloon, China. Chizuru, Mai and King have won the first bout via default. Their supposed opponents, a guy named Shingo Yabuki and his team was nowhere in sight. The judges assumed that Mr. Yabuki and his team, if he had any, must've been left behind when they left Japan.

_We will now begin the second match. Will the fighters please step into the arena…_

Chris, Yashiro and Shermie entered the arena along with their opponents Ryo, Robert and Yuri. The latter team had a serious look in their eyes as they studied CYS while the band members have various looks on their faces. Yashiro had a scowl even before stepping inside. Apparently that headache was still bugging him. 

Shermie had a cute smile plastered on her face as she gazed at her opponents, though Ranma's training has helped her significantly, she's still a little more comfortable in using her somewhat unorthodox fighting style against her enemy. Chris was… well, he was all smiles as he waved to the crowd, blatantly ignoring the Art of Fighting Team.

"Guys…" Yashiro said to the two, causing them to look at him in question. "I'm sorry for acting like a jerk, I admit that the words that I said were uncalled for and… I just want to tell you two that I'm sorry."

Chris smirked. "We know that, we just wanted to see you kicking yourself like an idiot. I wish I had a camera… your expression was priceless Yashi-kun! '_I'm sowy for acting wike a jerk' _Bwahahah!"

Before Yashiro could even wring Chris' neck, Shermie placed a hand on his shoulder. "All jokes aside, we're just glad to have you back. Now, let's get on with this shall we?"

"Heh, you took the words out of my mouth." Yashiro grinned, yanking at his glove as he and his team prepare for their first ever King of Fighters match.

_The next fight, the Art of Fighting Team vs. the New Face Team! Let the match begin!_

* * *

Ranma grimaced in pain as he was sent down hard to the ground when Kiima forcibly removed her sword from his body. He tried getting up but the phoenix woman simply kicked him back down. The white-haired woman shrieked, flapped her wings and kicked him once more in the stomach but this time with such force that it caused Ranma's body to jerk up high. She followed it with several sword slashes to various parts of his still airborne body before hitting his head with the hilt of her sword.

Kiima flew up and quickly channeled her ki into her wings. She curled up as she arched back her wings then she flapped it towards Ranma. A number of vacuum blades struck the Orochi half-breed, making his still fresh wounds wider and deeper as the assault continues. She flapped her wings once more before pausing in her attack. She slowly walked towards the bloody boy and stabbed him in the leg, making him scream out loud. Ranma limply dropped back onto the ground moments later.

"What's wrong, monster? Why aren't you fighting back? I know you want to kill me too!" she yelled. 

Ranma could do nothing but look at her through blurry eyes. He tried getting up but this time, his wounds were just too much for even someone with Orochi blood to take. Kiima 'helped' him get to his feet though, right before she slammed his defenseless body to the side of a mountain. He slumped against it and slowly slid to the ground.

"Monster… Fight me!"

"No… I don't want to fight you…"

Kiima snarled and stomped harder on Ranma's open wound. "That's a load of crap and you know it Saotome! I saw your smile that day, when you ripped our phoenix god to pieces and I was there to witness first hand when you proceeded to tear through my people with that sick smile! Admit it! You enjoyed killing my people! You loved every second of it, you murderer!"

Ranma was about to respond when Kiima slapped him hard on the face. "Had you spared those children Saotome, I would have forgiven you and left you to your fate… but you just had to do it, didn't you?" Tears were starting to flow down her face. "What did they ever do to you?! I know and I admit that my people became selfish in those times but those children had nothing to do with it!"

The scarred woman stomped on his head. "You… did you enjoy burning them alive?! Did that satisfy you?! Damn you to hell Saotome! You sick bastard!"

She was about to cut off his head when her eyes widened at the scene before her. Crying? He's… crying? Kiima couldn't believe her eyes but her mind was already set, she will not be fooled by such petty tricks. That's all it is, a measly trick to try and get to her emotions.

"Yes…" Ranma began, causing Kiima to pause in mid-strike. "I did enjoy killing them… I did enjoy burning them alive… even when I wasn't in control of my body, it is still no excuse. I saw and felt everything my body did, and I liked every single one of them…" His tears began anew. "You're right… I am nothing more than a monster, I'm a freak, and I'm a murderer… I'm not even human." His voice was now devoid of all hope.

Kiima snarled, her scarred face showing mixed emotions. She hesitated, tightening her grip on her sword with each passing second. She then began taking quick breaths before she screamed to the heavens, her scream echoing throughout the valley of Jusenkyo. She raised her sword and stared directly towards Ranma's lifeless violet eyes.

"Shi~ne!"

*Clang*

Kiima was pushed back when her sword collided with another sword that seemingly came out of nowhere. She took a guarded stance and immediately narrowed her eyes at the unknown figure standing in front of the downed Orochi half-breed.

"I will not allow you to hurt my airen!"

* * *

_'Darn… why do I feel weak all of a sudden?' _Chris thought while dodging Yuri's punches with a lot more difficulty than he expected. _'If this keeps up she'll get to me sooner or later.' _"Sorry about this…"

Chris buried his finger on the ground, making the floor explode upon impact. He then punched the rocks that flew up towards Yuri with his Amaguriken speed, repeatedly hitting the young girl all over her body. He quickly went for the finishing move when he placed his hands on the middle part of Yuri's chest, despite him blushing like crazy, and concentrated. A bluish ki burst came out of his palm and knocked his opponent down to the ground.

"Oh well… at least it's a start." He shrugged to himself. What he wanted to do was a long range ki blast like Ranma's Mouko Takabisha but he found out earlier that he could only do a small burst with his current level.

He blinked when Yuri got up, albeit shakily, and grabbed him by the shirt. He opened his mouth to speak but he received a very big and unwanted surprise when the energetic girl slapped him several times, causing his cheeks to redden from the attack.

Chris frowned, leaping back as he forcefully removed her grip on his shirt. He rubbed his cheeks for a few moments and then he stuck his tongue out to the young girl, making her even madder than before. He taunted her several times after that, using his speed to evade most of her attacks and to top things off, he began to snap his fingers repeatedly, producing an upbeat tune along with it. "I can do this all day, you know."

Yuri fumed. She cupped her hands and concentrated, a ball of ki formed moments later and then she chucked it towards the happy-go-lucky teenager. It was fast but not fast enough when Chris merely sidestepped to avoid the projectile, oh and he's still snapping his fingers and stomping his foot while he was at it. Yuri gathered her energy once more and sent it towards the blue-eyed boy's location, only to find out that he's not there anymore.

"I'm up here girly!"

Yuri looked up, only to meet Chris' foot. The force behind it was enough to send the girl head first to the floor, finally knocking her out. Chris dusted his hands and sighed a little bit in relief.

"Darn, why am I so tired already? I only feel like this after Ranma's training." He muttered to himself. He tool one glance at his teammates before shrugging and sitting down at a corner to rest.

* * *

"Shampoo…" Kiima snarled, tightening her grip on her sword. 

The purple-haired amazon quickly took a defensive stance, holding her sword diagonally in front of her to prevent any surprise attacks. "Kiima, you will not lay one finger on Ranma. Do so and I promise as an amazon warrior that your head will roll on the ground."

Kiima chuckled darkly. "Well DAUGHTER, I doubt you can match me now. Besides, the laws of my tribe must be upheld! You of all people should now that in these lands tribal laws must be followed, that's how the amazon, the musk and the phoenix tribes survived all these years. He killed my people and his punishment shall be death! Now move out of the way or face the consequences."

"No I will not back down Kiima, you and your tribe were selfish in taking all of the Jusenkyo water for yourselves. Not only that, you dare have the nerve to manipulate an amazon warrior back then and now you're trying to kill the man that I love?! Do you really think that I'd allow that, MOTHER?!" Shampoo retorted.

"I see, but there is something you need to know about your airen and I'd _love_ to be the one to break it to you amazon, your beloved is not human! If you had arrived a little earlier, you would've seen his true face! Do you have any idea how dangerous that monster is?! He's a monstrosity that needs to be destroyed! He even admitted it himself just now!"

Shampoo glared at Kiima. "You lie! It's you who's the monster! You used me, turned me against him and you almost killed Akane when you formed her spring! You really deserve to be punished for your actions and Ranma just carried it out! That's all there is to it phoenix woman!"

Kiima jumped at Shampoo but the purple-haired girl quickly blocked her sword strike. The two women were at a stalemate as their swords clashed.

"You will not interfere with my tribe's vengeance!" she screamed, rapidly flapping her wings that caused the amazon to close her eyes, giving Kiima just enough time to nick her on the shoulder.

Shampoo hopped back and performed a slashing motion to prevent any further attack from the phoenix woman. She landed roughly beside Ranma's bloody form. 

_'I have to lead her away from Ranma.' _Shampoo thought as she clutched her shoulder wound. She knew the guide and his daughter were lurking around somewhere near the area because she literally bumped into them while they were running like bats out of hell. So all she needs to do now is to draw Kiima out of Jusenkyo for Ranma to be treated by those two.

She jumped over the scarred woman, spun around and kicked her in the back of the head as she was about to land. Shampoo followed it up with a kick to the back of Kiima's knee, forcing her to lose her balance.

Kiima countered by hitting the amazon on the face with her now outstretched wing. She flapped her wings and began to fly a few feet away from her opponent, obviously trying to distance herself and perhaps she was preparing to send another set of vacuum blades towards them but before she could do so, Shampoo met her in midair and the two engaged in an aerial sword fight.

Both warriors traded blows, with Shampoo landing on the ground every few seconds just to recover before jumping back up and resuming her attack. Kiima was so caught up with her fight with the amazon that she was totally unaware that they were now outside the training ground. The purple-haired girl was fully aware though, that's why she kept on attacking and pushing her opponent back, not minding at all if Kiima would get a hit or two in. 

Their airborne battle lasted for a few more minutes before Kiima managed to stab Shampoo on her upper thigh, she continued the assault by twisting her still buried sword and kicking the amazon on the face, sending her crashing to the ground.

Shampoo sat up and immediately tended to her wound, tearing a part of her clothing and wrapping it around the wound as soon as possible. She quickly rolled to the side when Kiima threw her sword towards the amazon. Her mobility was now greatly reduced thanks to the stab wound. Kiima dove down to grab her sword and then resumed her assault on the amazon.

It was now Shampoo's turn to be pushed back, and she could do nothing but defend the entire time. Kiima laughed as she pressed on with her fast and accurate attacks. Kiima and Shampoo's swords clashed once more but the scarred woman quickly spun her weapon, forcing the amazon to finally lose her grip on the sword. 

"You're finished!" Kiima screamed, preparing to do a sword thrust to the defenseless amazon.

Shampoo's eyes widened when she found herself being shoved to the side, barely able to avoid the oncoming sword thrust. Her unexpected savior was not so lucky, she looked up and her eyes widened even more when she saw blood, large amounts of blood, coming out of her airen's body. What's worse is that the force of the impact caused Ranma to be sent backwards, just enough to send him over the edge of the cliff…

"NO!" The purple-haired girl shrieked, immediately running towards Ranma in hopes of saving him from what looks like certain death. She dove for Ranma's falling body and managed to grab his left hand but she was obviously losing her grip on it fast and to top things off, Kiima was starting to walk towards her with a sick smile.

"Why don't you follow your 'husband' to HELL!!!" Kiima yelled, stabbing the purple-haired girl's arm, forcing her to slowly loosen her grip on the dark-haired boy.

"No… Ranma… hold on!" Shampoo yelled but she froze when she saw the look on his face. 

Ranma was obviously trying to ignore the pain in his body as he gave the purple-haired girl a sad smile. Before Shampoo or Kiima could even react, he summoned his purple flame onto the hand Shampoo was holding, causing the amazon to instinctively release her grip. _'I won't let you die because of me… if this is my fate then so be it.' _His last thought as he fell into the dark abyss.

"RANMA!!!"

* * *

"Since this is my first time, please be gentle…" Shermie said in a playful and flirtatious voice that caused her opponent to blink in surprise, leaving himself wide open. _'It actually worked!' _she thought as she ran towards Ryo, ducked down to prevent his oncoming punch, grabbed his shoulder from behind and performed a handstand on it. She continued by driving her knee to Ryo's face, sending both of them down, with her opponent's head slamming hard on the floor.

The red head leapt backwards and twirled a couple of times before facing her opponent with that cheerful demeanor of hers. She giggled when she saw Ryo's face. Her opponent's nose was bleeding and it was a little bit flattened from her initial attack. 

Ryo cupped his hands and threw a very large ki blast to the CYS member. Shermie giggled as she jumped up to avoid the attack and then she twirled a couple of times in midair before landing gracefully in front of Ryo. She smiled at her dumbfounded opponent before spinning around and delivering a kick to his face. Ryo skidded back but quickly recovered to perform a rising uppercut which Shermie barely avoided by bending her body back just in time before the blow connected.

Shermie countered by clamping her legs around his waist and throwing him head first to the side. She followed it up with another kick to his face while they were still on the ground. Ryo recovered in time to grab her leg, he stood up and spun the redhead around before releasing his grip on the leg, sending Shermie flying across the area. She grimaced when she landed with such force that sent her sliding across the pavement.

Ryo jumped up and tried to punch the dazed girl in the midsection. Shermie rolled back, allowing Ryo to punch the concrete instead. She immediately grabbed his head, placed it in between her legs and twisted it slightly, just seconds before twirling around in midair, with Ryo's head still clamped between her legs, and then she slammed her opponent's head onto the floor.

She hopped back and blinked when she saw Ryo's face. His face indicated that he's in extreme pain, perhaps from her last attack, but there was a silly smile on his face as well. She sighed loudly and muttered something to herself. She slowly helped him up, went behind him and performed a series of German suplexes to her opponent, knocking him out, maybe for a long time.

"1… 2… 3… Owari!"

Shermie got up and stared at Ryo's unconscious form for awhile. She was brought back to reality when her phone rang, she grabbed it and smiled widely, it was her friends from France. They were watching her live on television so she waved and blew kisses to the monitor. She kept on talking to them as she went over to Chris' spot and stood beside him while they wait for Yashiro.

* * *

Shampoo involuntarily shivered as she gazed at the dark bottom of the cliff. Tears were starting to form in her eyes as she knelt down and grasped some of the dirt on the ground with her trembling hands. Her sadness soon turned to uncontrollable rage when she snarled, gritted her teeth and began to ignore the pain in her body. She quickly grabbed her sword, turned around and viciously glared at the phoenix woman.

Kiima was taking a long glance at the dark chasm. She had a feeling that Ranma will not go down that easily but she quickly reasoned with herself. "Even if he manages to survive, his wounds shall finish the job for me but I'll check his body right now just to be sure and besides, I also want his head." She said with a smug smile before sensing the anger a certain amazon was emitting.

"You'll pay for what you've done phoenix!!!"

The amazon's strikes and slashes were a lot more powerful now than ever before. Kiima's block was being broken almost every time, allowing little to no time for the phoenix woman to recover to block the next one. Kiima tried using her wings but with a surprising burst of speed that rivals even that of Ranma's, Shampoo managed to get behind her and proceeded to mercilessly cut off her wings, causing her to scream loudly.

Kiima rolled forward, distancing herself from Shampoo. She was at a kneeling position when she raised her sword above her head to block Shampoo's downward strikes. The problem at hand is that her sword was beginning to crack from the force and number of blows it was receiving. 

It took a while but it was finally split in two when Shampoo used both hands to deliver her latest attack, doubling the force behind it. The amazon's attack slashed her face and it continued down and ripped her clothes open, revealing a fresh perpendicular wound in the middle of her chest.

"I won't forgive you." Shampoo said in a cold, hard tone as she readied her weapon for the finishing blow. She angled her sword with the intent of driving it through Kiima's heart. She froze when the scarred woman smiled darkly. 

Kiima gripped the blade with her hand and stared directly into Shampoo's eyes. "No… you amazons will never have the privilege of killing someone from my tribe!" she exclaimed as she pulled out her dagger from her clothes. 

Shampoo struggled to free her sword from Kiima's grasp but she stopped when she saw the unexpected happen. Kiima raised the dagger up high and then she drove it into her own chest. The phoenix woman chuckled slightly as she dropped to the ground. 

"I fulfilled my promise… that monster will die soon enough. My tribe has finally been avenged…" Tears slowly fell from her eyes as they began to close. "Everyone… it's over… we can… finally rest in peace. Saffron-sama… it's over my lord… it's ov…er…" Her eyes were soon devoid of life as she breathed her last breath.

Shampoo dropped her weapon moments later. She kneeled down and stared at Kiima's corpse with sad eyes. She can't explain it but there was a slight pain in her heart as she watched her die, maybe a part of her still thought of the scarred woman as her mother, even after all this time. She brushed Kiima's hair to the side and she slowly closed the woman's eyes, not minding that a few tears were starting to trickle down her face.

* * *

"Don't be too serious, pal. It's bad for you." Yashiro said with a smirk.

Robert frowned. He knew he was outmatched physically by Yashiro but even if he does win this fight, there are still two more to deal with now that his teammates are down for the count and he doesn't really think that he can pull it off with those kinds of odds. "Let's just get this over with!"

Yashiro and Robert dashed at each other, exchanging blows as they did so. Yashiro grinned. He has the advantage in this one. His blows were hurting his opponent even if he blocks them so it's only a matter of time. That's what he thought until the pain in his head came back stronger than ever.

_Mind and Body…_

"Get out of my head!" He screamed as he clutched his head. He began to randomly move around. Obviously, he forgot that he still has a fight to finish.

Robert capitalized on Yashiro's current state and performed consecutive punches and kicks to certain parts of his body. He finished it off with a summersault that sent Yashiro up high and finally, he cupped his hands and sent a huge projectile towards the blonde that hit him on the chest, sending him across the area and onto the crowd. Robert cupped his hands once more and delivered yet another ki blast to Yashiro's body even before it hit the ground.

He walked up to Yashiro's downed body and tried to see if he's knocked out. It proved to be a very big mistake when he received the mother of all punches, sending him way back. Robert's body stopped when it collided with several walls along the area. He slumped down and fell unconscious afterwards.

"Stay down!!!"

_That which has been separated shall be joined once more…_

* * *

Shermie and Chris waited for Yashiro to finish his match, that or they're waiting for him to lose the match, you never could tell with their actions. The red-head was still busy talking to her friends on the phone but she would steal a glance or two whenever the fight wasn't going towards Yashiro's favor and Chris was watching the fight ever since he was through with his opponent but he had a bored look most of the time.

"So… who do you like more? Sensei or Yashi-kun?" Chris asked out of the blue, not taking his eyes off of their moody team leader.

Shermie fumbled with her phone, causing it to fall to the ground a few moments later. She knelt down to pick it up but not before glaring daggers at her 'little brother'. "What ever gave you that idea?! I-I don't think of them that way…"

Chris was still staring at Yashiro with his hands placed behind the back of his head. "Oh? Then can you tell me why are you blushing like crazy? I know you Shermie. You never, ever blush like that even when someone hits on you after our performance. So who is it?"

"I… er… um…" she sputtered.

The young teen rolled his eyes. "Never mind, you can keep it to yourself. But you have to tell the lucky guy soon or else you might just lose him to someone else, just a little added thought." Chris said, his words lacking his easy going tone. He suddenly brought a hand infront of his face and from his change in expression it seems that he is in pain over something.

"Hey Chris, are you alright?" Shermie immediately asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that sometimes I feel that I'm in some sort of pain even when I know that I'm not. Do you remember the incident on the plane? I really have no idea what it is but what I do know is that it's getting stronger now. I don't understand it at all, it's just that I feel that I should be doing something, anything to help whoever or whatever it is… what?! Shermie look!!!"

Shermie looked to where Chris was pointing at and gaped at the scene. Yashiro was still beating Robert to a pulp even though it was very clear that the poor man was already unconscious. "No! Stop it Yashiro!"

* * *

_Death…_

_Resurrection… _

_Chaos…_

_Destruction…_

_Armageddon…_

_'Dead?__ Am I dead?_' He first thought as he opened his eyes and was greeted by a bright light. He attempted to move his body but he couldn't feel a thing, he was numb all over the place. He can't even tell if his body is still intact or not, hell, for all he knows he could already be missing a limb or two. Everything was a blur to him, his surroundings, the light, everything. No matter how hard he tried to focus his eyes, his vision remained a constant blur. The only thing that caught his attention was a tall figure walking closer to him.

"Drink… don't worry, it's safe." A soft voice said reassuringly.

Ranma hesitated but soon took small sips of the liquid until he finished it all. Ever so slowly, his feelings started to come back. Although part of him wished that they didn't. As soon as he got some of his feeling back, he was greeted by an intense amount of pain that seemed to course through his entire body. He tried to scream but nothing was coming out of his mouth, the only conclusion he could come up with is that his throat must have been damaged from the fall. Though he doesn't know if it is permanent or not.

"Rest now, you'll need all the strength you can get."

He doesn't know if it was fatigue, the pain or the figure's words but after those words were said he immediately fell woozy from the place he was currently lying on. For awhile, he resisted the strong urge to fall asleep because he doesn't even know who the person watching him is and you can add to that his awareness of his current helpless state but soon enough, he found himself slowly succumbing to a peaceful slumber.

* * *

"Stop it Yashiro! You're going to kill him!" Chris and Shermie both shouted, running towards their team leader.

Yashiro had a neutral look as he gazed at his teammates. He turned his attention back to his opponent and continued to mercilessly pound him to the ground. Very soon, his neutral expression slowly turned into a manic one. He held Robert by the hair and resumed punching his opponent's already bruised and battered face. His punches held so much force that a few moments later, horrid sounds of bones cracking were being heard by everyone in the area.

Shermie and Chris immediately clung onto his arms in an attempt to stop this very disturbing side of Yashiro that they have never seen before. Sure, he was temperamental but he never, in all the time they have been together, did something like this. Yashiro tried to harm his teammates as he struggled to get free. He even elbowed Shermie in the stomach, forcing the redhead to release her grip.

Chris practically snarled when he saw the unconscious body of the redhead woman. "Damn it, Yashiro! Did you lose it?! Wake the hell up!" he yelled, punching the man hard on the face, pushing him a few feet away. 

The blue-eyed boy was far from finished. He quickly performed his Amaguriken on Yashiro's midsection, making their leader reel back from the impact but to Chris' horror, Yashiro recovered almost instantly as he grabbed the boy's head and slammed it to the ground. Chris, thanks to the training he received, immediately countered by kicking the blonde on his chin, making his head jerk up but not before getting a kick in to the blue-eyed boy's stomach.

Chris kneeled from the pain but he never removed his glare at Yashiro, who was now walking slowly towards him in a casual manner. Just when he thought it was the end of him, he suddenly felt the ground tremble before hearing Yashiro's deafening roar. It lasted for several seconds until Yashiro stopped yelling and by some odd coincidence, the tremors stopped as well.

Yashiro staggered back and forth before dropping to the ground, unconscious. Chris sat down heavily, eyes wide open the entire time. What in the world just happened? Almost everyone in the area asked themselves the very same question, except for two women who were grinning from ear to ear. They have found yet another one… and another potential Heavenly King, no less.

_T-The winner of the match, the New Face Team…_

* * *

"Uhn…"

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

Ranma tried moving his body once more but he found out the hard way that he can't move any part of his body without being introduced to a healthy dosage of pain. He did manage to turn his head to the side to look at the figure watching over him. Now that his vision wasn't impaired, he could see that it was a woman, she was probably in her late forty's, she has long silver hair and she was dressed in old and bedraggled Chinese clothes. "Where you the one that saved me…?" he asked, his voice was still a little jagged.

"Yes, I was the one that saved you sonny. You had me worried there, I thought that you were dead when I found you and I was about to throw you back to the river when you suddenly clamped onto my dress!" she exclaimed, showing him the torn part of her dress.

The long-haired boy tried to let off a chuckle but his stab wounds made him cough nonstop instead. He didn't know what happened next but he thought that he felt the old lady place her hands on his chest and after that, the pain subsided but it gradually started to return moments later. "Ugh… what did you do lady?"

"Don't move too much. It's a numbing technique. It'll allow you a few minutes to recover before the pain comes back again."

Ranma relaxed somewhat after hearing that but a part of him was wary of her voice for some reason he couldn't put his finger in. "How… how long was I out?"

The old lady pondered on it. "Hmm… I think you were out for about five days straight since I found you. I-"

"Five days?!" he exclaimed before screaming in pain because of his sudden movements. _'Dammit, did they already left? Did they leave me behind? Sigh… I guess there is no point in panicking now…' _"Uh… May I know your name lady?"

The woman had a glazed look in her eyes and her mouth started to quiver, as if trying to suppress her emotions. "My name…? I… I don't have one, not anymore…"

"What do you mean 'not anymore'?"

"I told you, I don't have one and besides, it's not like it matters to me anymore sonny." She quickly interrupted. "But I'll tell you this much, it has been 15 years since I was up there amongst my people. Do you really think that somebody will still remember me let alone care for a weak and dirty old hag?" she asked with an amused chuckle.

Ranma went silent after that. _'Still… why does she look so familiar? I know I've seen her before… back when… back when… when… I was still in Nerima… Herb! Herb's cursed form! Then that could mean…' _"Um, miss? Can you at least tell me if you are from the Musk Dynasty?"

That produced the desired effect. The old lady froze and quickly turned her head towards the wounded boy. "Did you say… musk dynasty?" she asked, albeit hesitantly.

Her reaction was enough to convince Ranma. "I knew it. I knew you reminded me of someone I met from that kingdom. If you were a few years younger, you would have been an exact double of that person or should I say… that person would have been _your_ exact double, him being a girl at the time and all that stuff."

The lady had an incredulous look on her face. "What?"

"You're Herb's mother." He said bluntly.

The white-haired lady was by his side in an instant. Her eyes held so much hope and longing and she somehow knew that this boy in front of her is the one that will put her mind at ease after all these years. "Yes… yes… I am Herb's mother." She admitted. "Do… do you know my son? How is he? Did he receive a Jusenkyo curse? Please tell me all you know about my baby!"

Ranma proceeded to talk about his encounter with Herb in Nerima up to their fight just a few days ago in Jusenkyo. He noticed the woman was on the verge of tears as she listened to his story but he can relate to that, being apart from your son or your mother for so many years will do that to you.

A few more days have passed and Ranma can now walk and move around a little, the old lady's concoctions really works, just don't ask what was in them. He never really got her name, she was just so stubborn, saying that no one remembers her anyway, perhaps not even her own child because it has been 15 long years since they last saw each other. Ranma found a few scrolls too but it wasn't a scroll on fighting techniques like he first thought but rather it was an old legend about a spirit of sorts. When he asked the old lady about it, he got more than he bargained for…

* * *

"I'll start from the beginning. It was said that a child of dragon descent will someday lead his people to either paradise or destruction. It all depends on the path that child takes. For years, the people of the royal bloodline prayed to our dragon god to bring us our savior. And our prayers were answered 22 years ago…

I was giving birth to my child, Herb, when the palace room was suddenly engulfed in a blinding light. Next thing I knew, my baby was already out of my womb and he was floating right in front of me while being surrounded by that bright light. The rest of the royal family knew what was happening. They rejoiced and thanked our god for giving us the chosen child. 

My husband, the King of the Musk, was ecstatic. He boasted our child to just about everyone within the kingdom, saying that he is their savior and they must bow to him forevermore. He was so full of himself, and that's the main reason for our kingdom's slow but sure downfall."

***

_"Downfall…? I don't think the Herb I saw awhile ago would ever do anything to make his people suffer. Sure he was arrogant and stubborn just like me in the past but he would never do that…"_

_The old lady was teary-eyed. "Herb was the sweetest child you could ever hope to have. He cares for the well-being of his people more than anything else. But it soon ended as the burden he carried took its toll on his seventh year."_

***

"The power he carried was great, greater than anything we have ever seen. But his body couldn't contain this power for long and soon enough, Herb became extremely ill. Our most renowned healers couldn't do anything for my child, not even one lousy technique to ease his suffering.

What was worse is that my damned husband kept pushing my son to his limits. Everyday he would train Herb in channeling his ki for him to be able to control the dragon spirit within him but his methods were brutal and inhuman, no one should go through that."

***

_"Wait a sec, dragon spirit?" 'Why do I get the feeling that it has something to do with my vision earlier…'_

_"Ah, it has been foretold since I could remember…"_

***

"The dragon spirit is a mystery to most of the people in the kingdom. Many have tried deciphering the scriptures and many have failed. But we do know that it lies inside the body of the chosen one which, of course, was Herb.

It is said that a white dragon came from the heavens to help a few deserving humans in their time of need. As time passed, the humans came to think of the dragon as their protector and savior, their god. We, the musk were one of those people.

But all good things came to an end. Our god encountered one of equal footing with him and they began a battle that neither one could win. Who or what was his opponent? It was an enormous beast with eight serpent heads and it has been called in history as the legendary monster…"

***

_"Orochi…"_

_The old lady shot him a questioning glance. "Oh? Do you know Gaia's herald?"_

_"Unfortunately yes… I know all about what happened 2000 years ago up to this time." Ranma replied sullenly._

_"Only 2000 years? Don't you want to know what happened before that time?"_

_"What…?"_

***

"I'll tell you, Orochi is said to be the protector of Gaia. Orochi basically loved this world, the plants and animals, the peaceful blue sky, that sense of tranquility that seemed to go on forever and yes, even the humans. But then the humans began to change, and their changes caused an immediate reaction to everything else around them. The harmony and balance of the world Orochi loved was disrupted forever…

As time passed by, the humans slowly but surely began to care less for the rest of Gaia's children. They became selfish, conceited and arrogant. They believed they are the superior beings and the rulers of this world but in reality, we humans were nothing but fools.

Orochi had only one being to blame for this, and it was our god. The white dragon disrupted the harmony by aiding those humans and the end result was man's so-called evolution, but at the cost of nature's destruction. Gaia's herald immediately sought out the white dragon and the two proceeded to fight from that point on.

The battle was said to have lasted for seventeen days, neither one truly gaining the upper hand. It was decided on the final blow that resulted in both creatures dying. Orochi died but only in body, his spirit eventually went back to Gaia. This incident also was the turning point for what happened 2000 years ago. A few humans saw his display of power and decided to make the serpent their god. They began traveling the world, creating miraculous healings and such. If memory serves, I think that they called themselves the Orochi cult.

Anyway, the white dragon died but it got to speak with my ancestors and a few other people before he met his demise. The dragon told them not to fear, for he shall be watching them from the heavens. He said that he does not blame us for going astray, and then he told us of the legend: 

_As my body turns to dust, my spirit shall be set free. But when a child of my blood, one of innocence and virtue, comes to this world, my spirit will merge with his so he may lead his people to either their happiness or their destruction. It is my atonement for my failure…_"

***

_"I see…" 'Was that the reason for me going into the Riot? Did Orochi want to settle the score?' "But where do you fit in to all of this? Why are you in a place like this anyway?"_

_"Well sonny, I have told you about Herb and the dragon spirit within him. I also told you about his suffering with that power…"_

***

"Herb tried, he really did. He wanted to make his people happy, he wanted to lead them to a life without pain and suffering, but in the end he couldn't handle the pain. The only option his father gave him was to force him to harness the power or he will die trying but there was a way out for Herb and I was the only one capable of doing it.

I hesitated on using that technique but I simply couldn't stand seeing my baby suffer everyday of his life, no mother could. That's why I took him one night and brought him to our ritual grounds and performed a long ritual that forced the spirit out of my son's body, thus turning him into just a normal boy of the musks. I never did find out what happened to the dragon spirit, but my guess is that it's gone now, lost to my people forever.

My husband saw the last part of the ritual and was enraged by my actions. He cared only about himself and his reputation, nothing more, and if this incident got out it will surely be the end of him. He humiliated me inside the palace, throwing fruits at my face and at night he would beat Herb to an inch of his life all the while saying to my baby's face that he is a coward and a failure. 

Finally, his anger and hatred finally took over, he pressed a few shiatsu points and blocked a few nerve points while I was asleep that permanently disabled my abilities and then he 'banished' me out of the kingdom. Basically he threw me off the cliff, and I wouldn't be surprised if he killed those that witnessed what he did to me. I somehow ended up here, I had no means to call for help and my ability to fly has been disabled but as you can see, I managed to survive all these years even without my inborn abilities."

***

_"Herb…" 'I was right… He was trying to help me.' "I don't understand ma'am, I fought Herb recently and he's very strong, and he's far more skilled than me in terms of ki manipulation." Ranma said with respect._

_"He is?" she said with a bit of surprise, she could sense that this young man in front of her has a high amount of unfocused ki so if he said that her son is powerful… "So, he did find another way after all. Herb promised me that after the spirit is removed, he would find a way to get stronger. He said that he'll save his people in his own way. Sigh… that's enough storytelling for now, you should get some rest sonny."_

* * *

Meanwhile, things have become pretty hectic inside the tournament ship. It has been more than a week already and Ranma hasn't come back yet. The fighters were expecting the sponsors to just leave the young man behind but Chizuru knew all too well that Geese would take care of that minor problem. And he did, the sponsors decision was to stay in China until all of the fighters are accounted for.

One problem that remained unresolved was the one between the Hakkeshu members and the Kagura priestess. With Ranma's disappearance, Mature has been a bit edgy lately and a heated encounter with the head of her most hated clan just took her right over the edge. Fortunately, Vice was the level-headed of the two this time so she decided to hold her partner back before she could blow all of their plans out in the open.

"Why don't you just stay the hell out of our way Kagura? I'm trying my best to control myself so that I won't accidentally kill you right now but keep meddling in our affairs and I will surely rip out that pretty little head of yours!"

Chizuru stared into the blonde's eyes and found nothing but absolute hatred directed towards her. She involuntarily took a step back at the intensity of the gaze but soon strengthened herself and matched Mature's look with one of her own. "I know you hate the Kusanagi clan just as much as I hate the Orochi clan, but what I don't understand is why do you hate my clan so much? I can clearly 'see' that your hatred has nothing to do with what happened 1800 years ago at all…"

Mature laughed while being held back by Vice. "You sure you want to know, little princess? You might be surprised when I tell you everything about your beloved Yata clan. Fine, fine… if you want to find out why then ask your bastard of a father… Oh! That's right!" she exclaimed, smiling maniacally at the priestess. "How could I have forgotten, he's dead. He died along with your dear sweet sister and your whore of a mother! Come to think of it… that's the only thing I'm grateful to Goenitz for doing!"

The Kagura priestess' eyes widened before she scowled and recklessly charged at the grinning blonde, totally unaware that Vice has already released Mature and that the blonde was more than prepared for the attack but it never did came. Chizuru looked to her sides and saw her partners, Mai and King, holding both of her arms to prevent her from continuing her charge. The dark-haired woman screamed in pure rage and cursed the Hakkeshu as she struggled to get out of her partners' grasp.

"That's right, call me whatever you want. You obviously don't know what your parents and fellow clan members have done in the past. Believe what you wish princess, but I saw what I saw and nothing will ever change that. Best if you find out the truth as fast as you can, you… all of you… are going to be living in hell soon enough." Mature said in an eerily calm tone, making a few fighters shudder at the possible meaning behind those words.

* * *

**# # #**

**AN: **Yatta! I finally finished the darn thing. I got stuck with a few scenes for so long that I decided to ignore finishing this chapter until I got my act together. Yes, that spirit was from the Psycho Soldiers Team ending in 2001 (Yes, I know… that was a dark year for all KOF fans… brrr…). 

I think I'll do another chapter of Dark Ascension first before I get back to this. Ja ne!

**Next Broken Souls I: The Light's Sorrow**

_"Who were they?! Damn you, answer me!"_

_"T-They were… the Yata clan…"_


	17. Broken Souls I: The Light's Sorrow

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 14: **Broken Souls I: The Light's Sorrow**

* * *

_Ladies and Gentlemen, due to some unavoidable circumstances, the tournament will remain here in __China__ for a few more days. However, that does not mean that the fights will be delayed as well, we will now proceed with the next tournament match, it is also the start of the quarter-finals. Fighters, please step into the arena… _

King, Mai and Chizuru stepped up and studied their opponents. Said opponents do not even need introduction because almost every KOF fan out there was chanting their names. Kyo, Benimaru and Goro stepped up after the Women's Team with the latter two in their somewhat lax and casual poses. Kyo, on the other hand, was staring directly at the Kagura priestess with determined eyes. _'We all need to grow up… I think I now know what you were implying Kagura.'_

Chizuru must've caught the message behind the stare because she began to walk towards the Kusanagi heir. Kyo did the same and decided to meet her midway.

"You've… changed. The arrogance I saw in you has been toned-down quite a bit since we left. May I ask what made you decide to take this matter seriously?" Chizuru asked, curiosity evident in her voice.

Kyo bowed his head slightly, just enough for his hair to cover his eyes. "I hate to admit it but you're right, I can't win this fight alone, Yagami's display of power showed me that much. I don't know much about the Orochi or the Hakkeshu except for what my father and mother told me, and I realized that could very well be my undoing."

Chizuru nodded in understanding. "You thought that having inadequate knowledge of your enemy before facing them will cost you someday. Very good, you're learning from your mistakes. Keep in mind that you did not defeat Goenitz by yourself… if Yagami did not step in to help you out, you'd be dead by now. Goenitz is merely a Hakkeshu, if Orochi's servant has that much power, how much power do you think Orochi itself has?"

The Kusanagi heir remained silent, part of him wanted to protest but another part knew she was right. This isn't some two-bit smuggler like Rugal in '94, their enemy isn't even human. He shook his head, all this worrying was getting him nowhere. "That's perfectly okay with me. I could show you that I do mean business if you'd like…"

Chizuru held a hand up in front of Kyo as she got into her fighting stance. "Interesting, let's see if that power of yours is enough for Orochi and his servants…"

_The next match is between the Hero Team and the Women's Team! Let the match begin!_

* * *

King and her kunoichi partner Mai ran towards the tag team of Benimaru and Goro. King leapt forward and spun around before launching a light blue projectile from her leg towards Benimaru while Mai jumped up high and immediately threw a barrage of fans at the powerhouse of the Hero Team, Goro Daimon.

Benimaru nullified the projectile by creating a circular electric barrier in front of him, surprising the short-haired blonde. That pause in King's attack was enough for Beni to dash forward to do a spinning handstand, knocking King off of her feet. Just as Beni was about to stand up, he barely had time to avoid another one of King's venom strike. He brushed his hair, smirked and blew a kiss to his female opponent.

"Hey baby… why don't we stop fighting and go somewhere else? I can show you how to have a good time… a very good time." Beni said smoothly to King, who was slowly making her way towards him. She smiled seductively and wrapped her arms around his neck before saying something into his ear.

"Men!"

King kicked the flirt on the stomach, okay… a little below the stomach, just enough to send Benimaru to his knees. Then she punched the living daylights out of the still dazed teen. "You're obviously just like those men that treat women like some prize to be won!" she shouted, every single punch she delivered connected to Benimaru's face.

On the side, the rest of the fighters winced in sympathy when they heard a couple of loud cracks coming from Beni's face, that can't be good. If the blood oozing from the long-haired blonde's face isn't enough indication, they don't know what is. Chris smirked a little when he recalled Ranma's life in Nerima. _'Prize to be won? You have no idea lady, no idea at all if Ranma was telling the truth. Where is he anyway?'_

"Surprise Rose!"

She launched Benimaru in the air with a kick to the chin, with her following closely behind. She finished it with multiple kicks starting with his chest, and going all the way to Benimaru's already damaged face. He crashed head first onto the floor moments later, knocking him out. "Hmph, pathetic…"

Meanwhile, Mai has her hands full fighting Goro Daimon. Everytime she tries to get a hit in, Daimon would grab her by either the arm or the leg and would proceed to repeatedly slam her body to the floor until she can escape his hold. Her fans don't work, Daimon would just parry them to the side like they were nothing.

Daimon attempted a shoulder tackle but Mai swiftly rolled to the side. She got behind him, rolled forward and charged at him with her elbow. "Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi! (1)"

She struck Daimon's back but it didn't affect him as well. He turned around, looked down on the sweating kunoichi, and slammed his hands on the ground, knocking Mai and the oncoming King off their feet. "A two on one match, huh? Not bad… not bad at all. But you girls really should stay at home and leave the fighting to us."

_'Who does he think he is?!' _Mai thought angrily. King was sharing similar thoughts about Daimon's arrogance. Daimon's words struck a nerve, mostly Mai's, that's the same thing Andy said to her just before the tournament began.

"Tornado kick!"

"Ryu En Bu!"

Daimon tried to block Mai's attack but he still got burned by her flames, making him lose his guard and allowing King to get a hit in on his face. He endured the pain as he quickly grabbed both women on the legs. He spun them in the air and slammed their bodies on the ground several times. "…give it up ladies, its over."

"No, it isn't over yet, you big oaf!" The two irate women yelled.

Mai promptly ran around Daimon, as if she was waiting for the perfect time to strike. King on the other hand, went straight at him then she backflipped, performed a handstand and flipped back towards the confused Daimon. "Here I go!"

King attacked Daimon with consecutive, fast punches and kicks to his legs, sides, chest, and head. He blocked the first few strikes but he let down his guard a few moments later. The force behind them wasn't much but it did give Mai enough time to fully concentrate on her attack.

"Hitotsu! Futatsu! Miitsu!" Mai yelled, throwing three flaming fans to Goro's back. "The finale! Chou Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi!" She rolled forward, and charged at Daimon from behind, her body totally covered in flames. She drove her elbow into his back, allowing Mai to engulf him in flames as well.

Daimon screamed in pain. He randomly walked around as he swung his arms back and forth in an attempt to put out the flames. That's why he didn't see both women jumping up and diving at him with a kick to his chest and head. He staggered but seemed to recover from the attack. Mai and King were tired already but they were ready to attack if it comes down to it but it proved unnecessary as the powerhouse fell to the ground seconds later with a loud thud.

King sighed, pulling a white handkerchief from her pocket and wiping some blood, mostly Benimaru's, off of her slightly bruised face. "Do you think she needs help?"

"I don't know but I want to get in on their fight too! We never did get the chance to fight in the first round." Mai reasoned out.

The short-haired blonde shook her head. "Nah, let her have some fun. We'll only help her if she's in any sort of trouble okay?"

Mai pouted a little but nodded in response.

* * *

"I won't be fooled by your illusions this time! I know you're right there, Kagura!" Kyo sent a wave of fire to his left, burning the priestess alive.

"No, I'm over here, Kusanagi." Chizuru answered rather calmly, appearing a few feet behind the wide-eyed Kusanagi heir. She casually struck him on the back of the head and on his lower back simultaneously. "For someone who just said that you meant business, you aren't doing that good a job."

Kyo quickly turned around and grabbed Chizuru by her clothes and lifted her up in the air. "Illusion or no, I'm sure you'll feel this one. Burn!" For those that admire the young fighter, they already knew what move Kyo did but imagine their surprise when it didn't just sent the crimson flames towards the opponent; it produced an unexpected effect as well, creating a circular wall of flames that slowly moved outward. It only stopped after traveling a couple of feet from their position.

The one Kyo grabbed did turn out to be another illusion, but Chizuru herself was not fast enough to evade the wall of flames that came out. Her sleeves were burned, so was a good portion of her upper clothing. "Impressive. But unfortunately not good enough."

Chizuru stood up straight, performed a series of motions with her hands and began chanting, but it was too faint to hear. Another illusion leapt out of her body and attacked the surprised Kusanagi heir. "Harau! Utsu! Sore! To finish it off, my illusions… come forth!"

Kyo received a blow to the head, a sharp, finger strike to his chest and a hard strike to his right cheek. He spat some blood before he looked up to see Chizuru leap back, leaving an illusion to where she was standing at. Said illusion kicked him in the chin, stomped on his foot and then delivered an upward palm strike, sending him way up.

He flipped in midair and glared down at the illusion through blurry eyes, but the illusion on the ground merely gave him a small smile as she pointed to a few feet from his position. He looked up and cursed when he saw another illusion in front of him, and gave him a kick to the back of the head, sending back down.

Chizuru walked towards the huge indention on the floor and looked at Kyo with a raised eyebrow. "It's almost the same as last year, except you do not have your teammates to back you up anymore."

* * *

"Kagura, do… do you really t-think that… they'd go down that easily?"

Chizuru let off a startled gasp when she heard the screams of her teammates. She turned and saw that King was being electrocuted by a bloody Benimaru while Mai was being swung in the air by a kneeling Daimon. She immediately beckoned for her illusions to help the two women.

The illusions did manage to neutralize both Benimaru and Daimon but the damage has already been done to her teammates. King struggled to get up but her wounds finally caught up with her. Her clothing was charred as well as the rest of her body. What happened to Mai? Chizuru already expected a few broken ribs from those inhuman throws by Daimon so it's a no-brainer as to what condition she's currently in.

The priestess' eyes widened when she felt a strong surge of power right behind her. _'How careless of me…'_

"Never turn your back on your opponent, heh, this will… settle it!" Kusanagi performed one flame-covered punch that hit nothing but air. Chizuru quickly turned and took this opportunity to finish the match but her attack was stopped when a wave of crimson flames surprisingly followed Kusanagi's punch.

Chizuru screamed as she was swallowed whole yet again in those crimson flames. Her screams came to an end when she fell limp to the ground. Kyo shakily stood up and went over to the priestess to put out the fire but she was nowhere in sight. He spun around and saw Chizuru standing a few feet behind him. He called out his flame and rushed at her, only to stop in shock when she muttered something.

"I step down."

Kyo seethed. "What? Why?! Our fight isn't over yet!"

Chizuru clutched her chest, gasping for air. "I have exhausted myself in summoning those illusions. I don't have the power to fight you anymore, that's why I'm stepping down. Kusanagi, perhaps you do have what it takes after all."

_The winners of the match… the Hero Team!_

* * *

_'Kami-sama… not again… where the hell am I no-heh, I'm not Ryoga.'_ Ranma thought with a slight smirk as he starts to wake up. He opened his eyes and quickly raised eyebrows when he found himself inside a fairly large hut. What the hell was he doing again and how did he ended up in this unfamiliar place? Then it all came back to him…

He talked with Herb's mother about him planning to create his own way out of that place. He really wanted to take the old woman with him. He really thought that she should be reunited with her son, his past experience with his own mother taught him that much. But the stubborn old prune just had to reason with him again, saying that she is not needed there anymore and that Herb may have forgotten about her after all this time.

In the end, he was forced to leave the woman there but not before saying that she could come up anytime when he was through making his own passageway. He smiled when he recalled the rather thoughtful look on her face before he finally left the area. After a couple of Mouko Takabisha's and Bakusai Tenketsu's, he managed to create a passageway up the cave that leads to a small forest, a few miles from Jusenkyo. He only walked a couple of meters before he collapsed from exhaustion and next thing he knew, he somehow ended up in this place.

Ranma stretched a little as he got up but soon winced when he was painfully reminded of his injuries. He looked to his side and saw his slightly bloodied shirt. _'Hmm… the wound must've opened up again while I was out.'_

He sighed and decided to do some light exercises while he wait for the owner of the house, the place was certainly large and spacious enough for him to perform a few of his 'normal' katas. Just as he was in the middle of his kata, his concentration broke when he finally noticed an all too familiar weapon placed at a corner of the room. _'No, I don't need this, not now.'_

He walked towards the corner and picked up the weapon, a large bonborri. _'It's hers alright, I guess I'm in my worst nightmare… no, wait… having Orochi blood is my worst nightmare, being inside the amazon village is a close second.'_

"Airen!"

Ranma shuddered when he heard Shampoo's bubbly voice. His already injured body was almost crushed from her patented amazon glomp seconds later. "C-can't breathe… S-Shampoo… my s-spine…!"

Shampoo reluctantly let go off her beloved and looked at him with teary eyes. "Ranma, I knew you were still alive! I knew if I searched hard enough, I would find you again."

"Y-Yeah…"

Shampoo sat on the bed along with a slightly hesitant Ranma. The two remained silent for awhile until Shampoo decided to lighten the mood a bit. "Oh, right! You're speaking in Chinese! When did you start learning it?

"After Saffron."

"Oh…" _'So much for lightening the mood.'_

The two went silent after that. The stayed that way until an amazon barged inside and immediately began speaking to Shampoo, thinking that the outsider male can't understand the language. "What do you mean Cologne is dying? That old ghoul could live till she's a thousand!"

Shampoo hung her head. "Great-grandmother really is dying, she fought a few Chinese soldiers to save the amazon children and she… she got hit by one of their weapons…" her body trembled as she finished. She was about to curl up when she surprisingly found herself on the receiving end of a hug, from someone whom she thought would run away at the slightest female contact.

"I-I'm s-so sorry to hear that. Hey, Shampoo, can you take me to her, please? I'd really like to speak to her about something." Ranma whispered to the amazon.

"A-Alright." She whispered back. She was still unsure what to think of this side of Ranma.

* * *

"Elder Cologne, your great-granddaughter is here… and she has brought the outsider with her." An amazon healer said to the dying woman.

Cologne coughed a few times before nodding and motioning to let the two in. Shampoo quickly ran to her side and asked if she was feeling any better. She lied of course, saying that she was well on her way back to her old self; it was all she could do to put her great-granddaughter at ease. "You look like someone who was been dragged to hell and back, son-in-law."

Ranma chuckled slightly, trying to appease the dying woman. "I just had a little run-in with Herb a couple of days ago Elder, and hey, I thought you already stopped calling me that."

"An old ghoul can still hope for her great-granddaughter, right?"

"Great-grandmother…" Shampoo whispered.

Cologne chuckled slightly. "I know child, now is not the time to talk about such things. Shampoo, can you leave us alone for a little while? Son-in-law and I have a lot to talk about."

Shampoo glanced at both Cologne and Ranma; both had serious looks on their faces. She reluctantly agreed to her great-grandmother's request and quietly left the room.

Ranma stared at the door before turning back to Cologne. "You knew, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes I did. You can learn many things if you have lived as long as I have."

"Why didn't you tell me that I wasn't human before that incident at Mount Phoenix? Why?" He asked in a low, menacing voice. If Cologne's wound doesn't kill her, Ranma's flames will. That is if he doesn't get the answer he wants to hear from her.

Cologne coughed a little. "Son-in-law, son-in-law, would you have believed me after everything I have put you through? I first noticed it when that Kumon boy challenged you to a duel for… hmm… oh yes! Your father's forbidden techniques. Despite what you may think, you ARE human son-in-law."

Ranma sat beside her and buried his face in his hands. "Human? Murderer or monster is more like it. I had to keep doing that despicable cheerful attitude to those that doesn't know what I am and what I've been through, just so as to keep them from running away from me."

"Oh? And have you even tried telling them about your pain?" She saw him shook his head. "There lies your problem, you assume too much son-in-law. Not everyone will run away from you. In fact, you'll find the most trustworthy of friends if they accept you for who you are. Being human can mean a lot of things, it all comes down what you do in the end, never let others tell you what you are…"

Again, a series of coughs from the old amazon, Ranma held her wrinkled hand and knelt beside her. "Funny, I always thought that I'd die by a warrior's hand, not by some modern equipment. Son-in-law, I-I don't have much time, come closer please…"

Cologne whispered a few things to his ear. "…I'm sorry for what I put you through, and I… hope… you… find… it… someday… Ranma…"

"Cologne…? Stop joking around! Hey, this isn't funny old ghoul! C'mon, stop this joke this instant elder! Elder!!!"

* * *

Ranma dejectedly got out of the Cologne's hut. A few of the amazons noticed that he was emitting a very depressing aura and they could tell that whatever it is that he was about to say will not be any good at all.

"Elder Cologne has left this world." He began, causing an immediate uproar within the crowd. "Before she passed on, she told me that I have two choices: One is to willingly submit to Amazon law and take her great-granddaughter and your fellow amazon warrior Shampoo as my bride. And the other choice is to fight for my freedom, freedom to all Amazon laws."

There was almost absolute silence within the amazon populace except for the amazon elders whispering amongst themselves and Shampoo's somewhat mute gasp. She already knew what Ranma was going to choose. Although it pains her to admit it, even after all this time, Ranma does not love her the same way she loves him and it seems that her great-grandmother told him the only way to escape her tribe's law without losing their honor.

"And I choose to fight, to rid myself of all amazon laws!"

"Very well outsider." One of the elders began. "You shall partake in a duel of honor tomorrow at dawn. Your opponent shall be announced at the said time, be prepared by then." _'This amazon is a nuisance but the skills are there…'_

* * *

It was a moonlit night that evening, Ranma gazed at the full moon from the roof of Shampoo's hut with a thoughtful look on his face. Cologne's dead. It looks like he's losing everyone he cared for back when he was still known as just the arrogant martial artist, not as the murderer, demon, and monster that they have labeled him now.

Don't let others tell you who you are, huh? It's not as easy as it sounds. Not when it feels as if that the whole world is against you, even yourself.

His musings were cut short when he saw Shampoo jump up, walk towards him and sat down beside him. "H-Hey, how are you holding up?"

Shampoo curled up, shoulders slumping slightly. "I guess I'm alright. Great-grandmother's death didn't hit me as hard as I thought it would. I guess having people die around you does that to a person."

Silence resumed between the two, there was really nothing else to say to each other. That is of course until Ranma remembered the incident with Kiima. He hesitated at first but he really couldn't help himself, he wants to find out what happened to the last of the phoenix tribe. "Hey, Shampoo?"

"What is it?"

Ranma fidgeted. "I was just wondering, um… errr… about… what happened to… Kiima…"

Shampoo curled up even more and her body started to tremble, making Ranma very uneasy. "She's dead. She killed herself even though she had the chance to kill me first."

"I see… I'm sorry to hear that. And I know you're hurting now that she's gone…"

"What do you mean?!"

Ranma sighed, looking back up at the full moon. "You can't fool me Shampoo, even when you looked at yourself in the mirror to remove the imprinting, to make you dependent on yourself again, you still cared for her. You just hid it so well so that the others may never find out."

The purple-haired girl laughed, but it was a mirthless one. "Airen got it in one. She never admitted it but she really cared for me like a mother would do to her child. When we were alone, she would always make me laugh and her face during those times were completely different from the ones she took with her outside that room.

Maybe it's just a dream, or an illusion, or some other effect of the Surikomi eggs. But I can't forget about that, no, never. When she pulled the knife from her clothes, she looked at me the same way she did back when I was still under her control. I cared for her, and I now know that she cared for me…"

"…Shampoo, there is one other thing I want to talk to you about…"

"I know, and I hate you for it."

Ranma turned to her and he got slapped for his troubles.

"I hate you for not seeing me for what I am, I hate you for not returning my affections, I hate you for stringing me along and I hate you for making me fall in love with you!" Shampoo said hotly, tears steaming down her face. She leaned into Ranma and grabbed a hold of his shirt. "I hate you… I hate you… I hate you…"

Ranma eyes brimmed with unshed tears as he watched Shampoo cry her heart out. What can he say? What can he do? Nothing can take away the pain that Shampoo has and with him fighting for his freedom, she maybe left all alone once more. _'Why? Why does everyone that knows me have to suffer?'_

* * *

Dawn finally came. Ranma stood, eyes closed, at one side of the wooden log, with Shampoo right behind him. He was alerted by the elders' presence when he heard Shampoo's 'aiyah'. He opened his eyes and immediately narrowed his eyes on the tall amazon amongst the elders. "Mousse…"

Shampoo tapped Ranma on the shoulder. "Be careful Ranma, he's not the same anymore since returning from our stay in Japan. Some of these elders trained him to rely on his other senses other than his eyesight, so he's much more improved than before." She warned before she leapt down the log.

"We do things differently around here Saotome. This is no longer a childish game like the ones we do in Nerima. If you have been caught in your cursed form the very first day you arrived, your head would've been mounted onto one of the poles near the entrance to the Amazon village." Mousse explained calmly.

"Yeah, I noticed." Ranma replied dryly, gazing at the human skeletal remains around the front gate. "Let's get this over with Mousse. I still have a lot of things to do before I even think of dying now." He said, matching Mousse's tone.

Mousse bowed in respect to his opponent. "I have to warn you that I will not hold back Saotome. Injury or no, I will give it all I have so do not expect any mercy from me." The male amazon stated, his voice gaining confidence by the minute.

"Good… I wouldn't want it any other way…" Ranma said, blue eyes narrowing. The air around him was quickly turning colder and denser, as if to match his cold demeanor. He, of course, was nowhere near a hundred percent but he will fight. It is clear that the amazons will never take no for an answer and you cannot get out of their grasp unless you find a way around their goddamn laws, a way that Cologne has told him, and he was thankful for that.

What was supposed to be a regular warrior battle suddenly became a whole lot serious when the elders decided to add in one little stipulation. "The fight between the Amazon male Mu Tsu and the outsider Saotome Ranma shall now begin. The only way to win the battle… is to kill your opponent."

* * *

"Mommy! Mommy, look at what I've found!" a cute and cheerful ten year old blonde girl shouted.

The young girl's mother went inside the room with a peaceful smile. "Yes dear, what did you…? Oh, what a cute little puppy!" she exclaimed, picking the puppy up from her daughter's arms. "Where did you find him, angel?"

"I found him all alone outside the school and then when I got home, he was tugging at my socks mommy. He must've followed me home, can we keep him? Can we? Can we? Can we?" the little girl asked in succession.

The mother's smiled faltered a bit. "I don't know dear, I don't think you're ready for the responsibilities in having a pet and we don't know if this cute puppy already has an owner or not. I think-" she stopped when she saw the look on her daughter's face. _'My little angel and that puppy do look a lot alike when she's like that.'_

"Please! Please! Pleeeeeeaaaaaaassseee! Please?"

The older girl shook her head. "Alright dear, I'll go check the neighborhood for his owner. If he doesn't have one then you get to keep him as your pet but you have to promise me to take good care of your puppy, now, do I have your word for it?"

"I promise mommy! Wai! Wai! Wai! I finally have a pet! Wai!" The little girl squealed in delight. She spun around in place, puppy in tow, and began talking about the puppy's place to stay, food, and others while her mother could only watch the scene with a small sweatdrop and also with a wide smile.

-----

_Mature let off a mirthless chuckle upon recalling that childhood memory. She was currently sitting on the sofa inside her room, obviously drunk. She poured herself another glass of wine and proceeded to gulp it down in one go. _

-----

"I… I don't want to follow our clan's orders anymore, I want to live among these humans… I-I'm finally starting to see why the tribe of the sacred flame defied Orochi-sama's wishes." Mature's mother whispered to her husband. She looked to her side and gazed at her little angel, who was currently leaning on her shoulder as she slept together with her little puppy.

The man smiled at his wife. "I know what you mean. Guidel and his tribe are also starting to see things in a different light. We'll find a way, we'll find a way out of this war."

The couple leaned against each other, content with the way they are living at the moment. They want it so badly, freedom from this unending battle between religious clans. Their happiness was short-lived when their door suddenly broke down, revealing a number of men and women in ceremonial clothing. "What is the meaning of this?! What do you people want?!"

"Orochi filth…" One of them began, "…your kind has to be stopped for the world to be safe. We are the ones that were appointed in carrying it out. Grab them! And the child too!"

Mature's father tried to fight them but they were just too many of them while her mother was caught rather easily as she was knocked out cold by a blow to the head. Mature tried to fight them as well but there really wasn't anything she could do at her young age, her poor dog took a bite out of them and got impaled for his troubles.

"No! Mommy! Daddy!"

-----

_"Damn them…" Mature said through clenched teeth. "Damn them all to hell!"_

-----

"Y-You promised us! We told you everything we know about our tribe of the light!" Mature's mother yelled, grabbing a woman by her sleeves. "You promised to let us go!"

The woman kicked her back down. "We only keep our word to those that deserve it, and your kind certainly has not earned that right. This one is the first to receive his punishment."

Mature's eyes widened when they brought in the dead body of her father. She and her mother rushed beside him and began to weep over his death. That was the beginning of a little girl's worst nightmare…

-----

_"Honorless bastards…"_

-----

It has been around four months since her father was tortured and murdered by those people. Surprisingly, she and her mother were released a few days after her father's death. Her mother went silent since then, she never talked to her anymore and she seemed to be in a constant state of depression. Mature knew that her parents loved each other, and she couldn't imagine what her mother must be feeling right now.

Tears were threatening to fall but she managed to keep her emotions in check. If she broke down, who would take care of her mother? She was now the only one she has in this world and she doesn't know if she could go on without her. She sighed and continued to prepare her mother's meal.

A few minutes later, she went upstairs, food in tow, to feed her ever so depressed mother. She knocked once but she got no answer. She opened the door and peeked inside, her mother wasn't at the bedroom so she must be taking a soak in the tub. She placed the food on a table and went to get her mother.

"Mom, I brought you some… MOM! NOOOOO!!!"

Mature rushed to her mother's side and dragged her out of the tub but it was too late. No matter how hard she tried, her mother would never come back. She hugged her mother tightly as she rocked her back and forth. "Mom…? Why did you leave me? Why did you leave me all alone?"

-----

_The sound of glass breaking was heard by the fighters who were passing by the Hakkeshu Team room. _

_"Kagura!!! I swear I will bring all of you down!"_

-----

"Who were they?! Damn you, answer me! Who killed my father?!" A twenty year old Mature demanded. Oh, how she hated this method. Using her looks and her body to lure a few chosen individuals and then forcing information out of them.

"T-They were… the Yata clan…"

Mature leaned in closer and whispered a 'thank you and goodbye' right before she slashed his throat with a knife. She stared coldly at the man's body before wiping her face.

"Magnificent! That bloodlust for these humans! You truly are from the Orochi clan."

The blonde turned and threw her knife, which to her surprise, was caught easily by a tall man in some type of military clothing. She pulled out another knife as she asked, "Who are you?!"

The man took a deep bow. "My apologies, I am the Hakkeshu of Wind, also one of the four Heavenly Kings of Orochi, Goenitz. And you, my dear, are from the same clan as I."

"You're Orochi too?"

Goenitz smiled. "Indeed. I have an offer for you, join me and I promise you that the Yata clan, and each and every one of the human filth in this world shall be destroyed by our god, Orochi!"

"What's the catch?"

"Nothing much, just devote yourself to Orochi and his will. You must've felt it too, right? You know you want to do this; surely your father wants you to do this for him! Now, what shall it be?"

Her lips quivered, and her hands were clenching and unclenching. She closed her eyes and allowed a few tears to fall, it may probably be the last time she'll ever allow her emotions to come up, and nodded to Goenitz. "Alright, let me join you in killing these humans."

-----

_It was too late, she has already chosen her path the moment she accepted Goenitz' proposal. She wanted revenge so badly for losing her parents and she didn't quite grasp the consequences of her actions. She had killed so many people that she even came to like it after awhile. _

_She would have continued to do so if Ranma hadn't showed up, there was something about him, something hidden within himself that makes you want to follow him, something that makes you want to believe in him. Regardless, it was too late for her, she has made her choice and there is no going back._

_'Damn it…'_

* * *

"What did you say?!" Mousse and Ranma yelled at the same time.

One of the elders stepped up. "You heard us, this is a fight to the death. That is the only way for one of you to win this battle. Refuse to do so and I promise that you will suffer the consequences."

Mousse gritted his teeth, what a typical reaction from the elders. If they can't have the god-killer, no one outside their tribe would. It also wouldn't hurt to get rid of their expendable 'weapon' that causes them nothing but trouble now that he's strong enough battle one of them. It was a win-win situation for these old prunes. He knew that no matter who wins this fight, the elders will make sure that both of them are eliminated.

True, Mousse can make such outlandish assumptions at times, but at least he got this one right.

Ranma snarled at the wide grins on the elders' faces. The things he would've done to them by now if he was only at full strength. If that's what they want then he will not fight, he will not be used yet again!

Shampoo was practically seething from the sides. If it wasn't for some of the younger amazons holding her back, she would have already charged recklessly at the elders and maybe in doing so, would've wasted her life.

"Do you refuse to fight? Well, we kind of expected this to happen, so we have decided to have some sort of plan. Bring the other outsiders here!"

Ranma's eyes widened when the amazons dragged four people into the area. Two men, one woman and the last one was but a mere child. He suddenly felt a sense of dread as he looked at their faces, it was clear that they have recently been tortured, but the one he was focused on was the child. The little girl's eyes were full of fear as she looked right back at him, it was a look that haunted him ever since the destruction of Mt. Phoenix.

"You… you people are no better than the humans that killed my ancestors… is this what your tribe stands for?! Do you have to follow these backwatered laws your whole life?! Do you honestly think that your tribe can survive with these laws? I have just been here twice and I can already tell that your tribe is doomed to fall if you continue living like this! Wake up! The world does not revolve around you, these damned elders, or your pathetic amazon laws!"

"Shut up outsider!" All of the elders shrieked. "Do you want to talk or do you want to fight?! Remember that the lives of these people all depend on you!!!"

* * *

"Shut up and let's go, Saotome!"

Mousse threw several knives at Ranma's direction which he evaded by jumping up. Mousse smirked, bringing out a set of chains from his sleeves and launching them at the airborne half-breed. "Too easy, Saotome!"

Ranma struggled to get out of the chains but he had little to no time to even scream when he found himself being slammed back to the log several times. He flipped back up but he received a number of stab wounds from Mousse's knives for his troubles, one in the leg, one in the arm and one in the primary wound Kiima gave him.

The blind amazon released his hold on the chains and brought out a set of scythes that were attached to his arms. He dashed forward and began slashing at the ponytailed boy. His attacks were fast and accurate; he's not like the Mousse that Ranma had known in Nerima. Mousse did not stop until he nicked Ranma on the chest. He took in one deep breath as he detached the scythes from his arms. "It's over Saotome, you lost."

Ranma scowled. "Don't be so full of yourself. Just one scratch can't bring me-" Blood surprisingly started to trickle down his mouth, his breathing suddenly became erratic and his vision turned blurry. "What? P-Poison?"

"Correct. A poison made by combining several other poisons, a person like you will die in about half an hour after it has entered your body. Elders! As you can see, I have clearly won this duel! Release the captives right now! We do not kill innocents!"

One elder snarled. "Who are you to order us? You're just a tool used to spy on the Musks and other neighboring tribes! You have no right to demand anything from us, amazon male!"

"Bastards!"

"I knew it, come out, my flame!"

* * *

Purple flames quickly encircled the two fighters AND the elders along with their four captives, creating a wall of flames around them. Ranma walked towards the elders with cold, blue eyes. "Now, we do things my way."

"Insolent fool, do you really think that you can take on all of us? You had your hands full with Cologne and now that you have been poisoned, what can you possibly do against four elders of the Joketsuzoku?"

"Watch… and maybe you stubborn old fools might learn something."

Ranma ran, or more precisely, glided to the side. He got behind one elder and backhanded her towards the flames and out to the crowd. The second elder lunged at him with her staff, he angled his body just enough for it to miss him by a hair. The third and the fourth performed simultaneous Amagurikens at him. Ranma was fast but he failed dodging the punches halfway, his body mostly taking the brunt of their attacks.

Mousse was frozen from where he stood. He sensed that Ranma took the punches like they were nothing but he felt a slight change in his aura afterwards, looks like the poison was taking effect, or so he thought. Ranma swiftly kicked both elders and then he drove his elbow to the second elder's face. It was clear to Mousse that whether the poison was starting to take effect or not, Ranma was not showing any indication of it.

The first elder jumped back into the wall of flames and tried to trip him up.

"What are you aiming at? I'm over here." Ranma said off-handedly, appearing behind the first elder. "Hmph, do you honestly think that you're stronger than Cologne? Aho! Keep on dreaming."

"Maybe so, but we're as crafty as her… now their lives are ours for the taking."

Ranma turned and saw rest of the elders run towards the captives. A step forward was as far as he got when the elder behind him pressed his paralyzing point. His body fell limp and he could only watch the scene in front of him with abject horror. _'No, not again, please… not again!'_

One elder jumped and began to lunge at the captives with a sharp blade. "Death to all outsiders!"

"Mousse…" Ranma mumbled in shock.

Mousse had his chains wrapped around the three elders as he stood in between them and the captives. "You've finally shown your true colors now that the person capable of keeping you inline is gone. You're a disgrace to the amazons! You don't deserve to be called elders!"

"Hmph, it's too easy amazon male!" The three broke free of the chains and continued their lunge at Mousse and the captives. "Mu Tsu, you should know your place!"

Mousse grabbed the captives via chains and leapt out of harms way. What he did not sense was the child that was nearby the flames. It wasn't until he was far enough from the elders that he began to notice it. He dropped the captives to one side and hurried back to the little girl.

For his part, Ranma struck the preoccupied elder beside him. It was too painful to move under the shiatsu point but he simply will not let that child die, not if he can do something about it. He punched the ground and a wave of flames traveled to the three remaining elders, splitting them up. Unfortunately, those flames also blocked Mousse path towards the girl. Ranma saw this so he got up and hobbled towards the location of the child.

"Hey, don't worry. I won't hurt you…" Ranma said to the frightened girl. The girl hesitated at first but the flames behind her made the decision easy enough. She latched onto his shirt and closed her eyes. "I'll get you out of here, promise."

The ponytailed boy jumped up but the flames, normal or not, was getting out of hand. He could hear the rest of the amazons trying their best to put out the fire. He jumped a few more times, hazy eyes and all but all he found himself was cornered by four enraged elders.

"This way!"

Ranma gritted his teeth, clutched the girl tighter, and ran through the flames towards the source of the voice. _'Dammit, go for broke…' _he thought with a frown. His instincts tell him to follow the voice so he's betting everything on it. The combined purple and crimson flames caused a large explosion, burning a couple of houses as it did so.

"Ranma!!! Mu Tsu!!!" Shampoo screamed in horror as she watched the flames go bigger.

* * *

**A few miles from the village**

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Thank you mister!"

Ranma and Mousse were leaning on a couple of trees as they sensed the hostages take their leave. Both were totally exhausted, gasping for air. Ranma turned to Mousse. "Thanks for helping me and that girl back there. I really appreciate it."

"Oh, can it will you?" Mousse snapped, leaning harder on the tree. "If it was up to me, I'd already cut off your head, you womanizer. Dammit, I know I'm gonna regret this but… here." he said, throwing something at the ponytailed boy.

Ranma caught it and looked at it with narrowed eyes. It was a small, bamboo container…? "What is-?"

"It's the antidote. It will take some time to take effect, so you'll probably have a fifty-fifty chance of surviving it now that the poison has been inside your body for quite some time. Frankly, I hope you die from the poison."

The half-breed sighed and drank the antidote. No words were exchanged afterwards. Ranma sighed and turned to leave, looking at Mousse one more time and muttering one final word to the amazon. "I'm so sorry."

The myopic amazon couldn't help but chuckle at that. He watched Ranma's retreating figure with a small smile. He stepped away from the tree for a moment to reveal a large, deep, slanting wound on his back that was bleeding profusely. He leaned back on the tree and a few tears escaped his eyes.

"Xian Pu…" he mumbled, his eyes slowly became devoid of life.

* * *

Ranma trudged forward, ignoring the fact that he could barely see anything at this point in time. Mousse's poison has been inside his body for a very long time and it seems that the antidote was not in effect yet. By all rights, he should be dead by now if he correctly recalled the effects of the poison from a medicinal book he once read at Dr. Tofu's. The only conclusion he could come up with is that because of the Orochi blood flowing within him, it must've saved him yet again.__

"Ranma…? Ranma, is that you?"

The Orochi half-breed was relieved as soon as he heard that voice, a shy, hesitant voice that could only come from his childhood friend. "Leona-chan… can you give me a hand? I… I can't see anything…"

Leona immediately rushed to her friend's side while already pulling out her emergency med kit from her pack. She quickly looked over Ranma's injuries and did not like what she saw. "Oh my god, what happened to you Ranchan? Multiple stab wounds to your stomach and leg area… not to mention those fresh scratches and bruises all over your body. Wait a sec… is this poison?! You've been poisoned too?! We've got to get you to a doctor quickly!"

Ranma didn't respond anymore, he has already passed out on Leona's arms the moment she came to his aid. Leona wrapped Ranma's arm around her neck for support as she slowly walked towards the ship. "Help! Somebody help us!"

By some odd coincidence, both Mature and Chizuru were outside the ship when they heard the call for help. Mature could've cared less but one look at the person Leona was supporting sent that thought right out the window. The two women seemingly ignored everything else around them as they rushed to the blue-haired girl's side and try to help the wounded boy in any way they can.

Most of the fighters came out of their rooms to see what was going on and most of them gasped at the sight of a bruised, battered, stabbed, and poisoned Ranma. Shermie had a worried look but seemed hesitant to approach Ranma and the three women carrying him. Iori smirked at the sight, can you blame him? It's not everyday you see the ponytailed boy bloodied and unconscious, he could attest to that. Geese and Krauser feigned disinterest but they were really curious as to what happened to the Orochi half-breed.

A few minutes later, Ranma was now placed inside the infirmary. The doctor already gave him a healthy dose of serum to counteract the poison that was still inside his system, it is up to fate to decide whether or not it will work, but the girls somehow knew that he'll pull through. This was also the time when Mature and Chizuru finally noticed that they were standing next to each other, both women glared at each other before going their separate ways.

Leona stayed behind and watched her best friend. She cursed herself every now and then for following Commander Heidern's orders. If she stayed behind then she would have been able to help Ranma in whatever trouble he got into. She kept watch a little longer before she inevitably went into a deep slumber, just missing the brief change in Ranma's body. Ranma muttered something in his sleep before reverting back to his normal form.

Inside another room, a certain sleeping, brown-haired boy went through that brief change in appearance as well. His hair turned white, an abstract mark glowed brightly on his chest and he muttered the same thing Ranma said a little while ago. "Orochi…"

* * *

(1) – Deadly Ninja Bees, but I guess you already knew that.

**AN:** Whew, another one done. I should probably let all of you now that my updates starting next month or so may become slow… not just slow, waaaay slow. I have some huge RL problems that need to be resolved and you can add school to that list. Gomen nasai! Oh yeah, I'll probably finish this one before that slow update thing happens, there's only a couple of chapters left in the Orochi saga, so expect a lot of updates from me this month.

Anyway, this is one of three parts which revolves around three characters, Mature, Chizuru and Shermie. The voting between the latter two shall resume after the third part. Till next time, Ja ne!

**Next ** **Broken Souls II: Mirror's Reflection**

_"Maki! Take Chizuru and get out of here!"_

_"Mother! Father!"_

_"Hm hm hm, why bother? You'll never make it alive anyway. It is best that you stick together as a family and start praying to your god!"_


	18. Broken Souls II: Mirror's Reflection

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Ugh… shutting up now… oi…****

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 15: **Broken Souls II: Mirror's Reflection**

* * *

**KOF Tournament Ship: Clinic**

"What really happened to you? Did you got drunk, tried going back here on foot and somehow fell down the sewers? No, wait, maybe some other dumb thing happened to you along the way."

"Feh, look who's talking, you look like someone who pounded by a fifteen ton mallet, trust me I know. What's the deal anyway? Did your team lose in a fight? Or did you find out the hard way that the girl you're seeing already has a boyfriend?"

"Oh, shut up."

The tournament ship was now headed towards Southtown, but Ranma was still confined inside the clinic. Everytime he tried to get out, Chris, Mature or Leona would pop out of nowhere, grab him by the ear, and throw him back to bed. Guess today was Chris' turn to spot Ranma out of the clinic. He sighed, looked around the room before noticing the glass of water on a table next to him. _'Shampoo, Mousse, and __Cologne__… three more lost, I guess you won't stop until I have no more friends left huh, Orochi?'_

Speaking of the eight-headed beast, he forgot to ask Mature about Orochi's earlier history. '_Though I doubt if she even knew about it but what do I know? She has been secretive the moment this tournament took place and it seems she'll stay that way for the remainder of the fights. So much for trust…'_

He turned his gaze back to Chris, who was currently sitting next to him while reading a music magazine. _'Might as well tell him the truth…'_

"Hey, Chris…"

"Yeah?"

Ranma hesitated, biting his lower lip. "W-What would you do when someone whom you thought you knew turned out to be, umm, something else? Y'know, um, er, how should I put this… the truth is that he's different, different from almost everybody else, and he was keeping it a secret from you all this time."

Chris blinked at that, and then started laughing as he fell out of his chair. "What the heck was that all about? You're not making any sense at all Ranma."

"You don't have to laugh, you know." Ranma replied in a huff.

"Okay, okay, enough of this. Yes, I know what you're talking about because I know all about it Ranma." The brown-haired teen stated calmly. His cheerful demeanor was now replaced with a serious one.

Ranma looked at him in shock, and then his eyes narrowed as he grabbed the young teen by the shirt. "What?! You knew all along?! How? Who told you about it? Since when did you knew about my heritage?"

Chris struggled out of Ranma's hold and quickly held both hands up. "Whoa, wait a sec! Calm down will you? I had my suspicions back then and I could've sworn I saw that purple flame before we even met." He paused and patted Ranma on the shoulders before he continued. "You're related to the man that's responsible for CYS being here right? You're related to Iori Yagami!"

_'He's either clueless or he really wants to die young, and why do people always tell me that?! Just because I can call out the purple flames doesn't mean I'm automatically related to the guy.' _"Uh, Chris? You got it all wrong, I-"

"I understand completely…" Chris quickly interrupted. "…I can imagine what it feels like being related to a psychopath. But you don't need to worry, hey, I'm still here right? Even though most people fear the Yagami's, I don't feel any of it to you at all. Besides, you're probably the only one who truly understands me…"

Ranma was about to respond but Chris' forlorn looks quickly went back to his smiling one as he began to walk out of the room, perhaps to keep his emotions in-check. The ponytailed teen gazed at the door for a minute before sighing and shaking his head. "Oh well, I guess it's a start."

* * *

"I'm bored." Ranma muttered. He was currently outside the clinic, leaning on a railing as he gazed at the vast ocean. Chris hasn't come back yet so nor does he expect him to, he does that sometimes during their travels a few months ago in Japan. He took the liberty of his guardian's absence to get away from that medical prison. _'Southtown… why does that sound so familiar?'_

"Heh, I thought you were still bitching and moaning about your injuries inside the clinic, so I'm surprised to even find you outside." Iori stepped out of the shadows, dressed in a black trenchcoat and pants instead of his normal clothes for a change.

The ponytailed teen just scratched the back of his ear. "I'm so bored. Hmm, maybe I'll pay either Leona or Mature a visit. They have a knack for making me laugh even when I'm not in the mood… Grr… damn, the pests here sure are bothersome."

Iori scowled when Ranma swatted the back of his neck, still pretending that the redhead wasn't there. "Grr, fine, I'll get back at you after my two matches. I know that you'll win yours too."

Ranma watched with a triumphant look as Iori simply yelled a frustrated 'Bah!' and walked away. "At least I found a way of keeping him out of my hair for awhile…" he paused when he felt another presence approaching him. Then he tensed when said presence gently leaned on his back and whispered a few words directly into his ear.

"I thought I told you to get some rest, not to frolic around and risk having your injuries reopened."

"That you did, but you should know me by now Mature, and I will not stay in that hellhole again."

Mature giggled. "Oh, its hellhole now, is it? Since you're such a rebellious boy, why not come to my room and, shall we say, 'break' a little thing you still have called virginity? You are still a virgin right? After all, only a virgin would be blushing that much."

"I'mfinethanksfortheofferthough!" Ranma said hurriedly while blushing like crazy. _'Mental note: going to Mature's room is definitely not a very good idea.' _"SeriouslyI'mfinebesidesIwanttotalkaboutOrochi!"

The blonde blinked, trying to decipher what Ranma had said. "Oh, Orochi? Sure, go ahead. Ask me anything. I'll be glad to tell you if I know the answer to it so fire away."

"Ahem, did you know how Orochi was named 'our' god?"

Mature looked up and placed a finger on her chin. "Hmm, no, not from what I know anyway. Why do you ask? Do you know anything about it?"

"You see… I heard a very interesting story from an old lady…"

* * *

_Chizuru gazed at the sunset with pain-filled eyes while standing all alone on a secluded part of the ship. She placed one hand on her shoulder and the other hand on her side, giving herself a soft embrace. Tears formed around her eyes as she remembered what day tomorrow is. It was a day she would never forget, a day in which her life as she knew it was brutally taken away from her._

_"Oneesama…"_

_An illusion stepped out of her body and turned to face her. Chizuru slowly held her hands up and her illusion did the same. She closed her eyes and her illusion gently clasped their hands together. The two then proceeded to perform one of the Yata clan's 'dances', particularly one which she and her late sister Maki used to do all the time._

-----

"Ow, it hurts…" A nine year old Chizuru, dressed in small priestess clothes, sobbed while clutching a large gash on her knee. She paused when someone gently placed a hand on her wound and a white glow began to surround her. She looked up to see someone who looks just like her.

"There, all better now."

Chizuru looked at her knee and gasped when she saw that the gash was gone. She looked back up and beamed at the girl. "Thank you, Maki-oneechan!"

Maki just smiled back and helped Chizuru up her feet. She dusted her sister's clothes as she spoke, "Be careful next time, okay? I won't always be with you and if that time comes, you have to look out for yourself."

"That's not going to happen, sis! We'll be together forever!"

-----

_Chizuru spun around, with her illusion right behind her. Her movements were both graceful and refined, quite fitting for the head of the Yata clan. The only sound you'll her from her dancing was the slight rustling of her clothes, that's about it. Her shoes were not making any kind of noise whatsoever; it's as if that she was gliding in midair. _

-----

Chibi-Chizuru had a confused look on her face and a couple of sweatdrops at the back of her head. She was currently in the middle of a hallway with five exits, which seemed to always bring her back to this spot. "Umm, I think I'm lost. Hello! Mother! Father! Sis! Is anyone there? Why did father build the house like a maze anyway?"

She finally sighed and decided to find the way out by herself. She walked for a few minutes until she was too frightened to walk anymore. She was now in a dark place, hoping that it was still somewhere inside the house. "Hellooo? Is anyone here? You don't have to answer if you're a g-g-ghost! Hello-AH!"

She fell face first onto the wooden floor. She groaned and rubbed her sore nose before turning her head and looking at the thing she tripped on, it was a short rope tied tightly on a part of the floor. "Huh? What's this?" she muttered as she yanked on the rope.

She pulled a few more times until she pulled part of the floor with it, and she blinked when she saw some light coming from the hole and a staircase leading down. "Wonder where these stairs lead to…"

Curiosity getting the better of her, she hesitantly hopped down and looked around. There were a lot of paintings hanging on the walls. Most of the paintings were about the earlier heads of the Yata clan. She froze when she heard footsteps coming from the door next to her. She was about to run back up when she a loud voice echoed throughout the room.

"This has got to stop!"

_'That's father's voice!' _Chizuru thought with a sigh of relief.

-----

_Chizuru's eyes narrowed and her graceful dance quickly turned into a controlled kata. She and her illusion began a simple dance of death, but with each blow the priestess dealt, her anger and hatred slowly began to rise. Just looking at her eyes was proof enough._

-----

Chibi-Chizuru wanted to knock on the door but the one they're talking about really caught her interest. So she waited, leaned on the door and listened intently to the conversation.

"I concur! You three are acting like savages, you were taught better than this!" A loud voice seconded.

"Take that back! Those animals deserve to die an animal's death! They abandoned their humanity and embraced the ways of the demon! Tell me why we cannot kill them like so?" A female voice reasoned.

The female voice Chizuru heard next shocked her to the core. "Yes, they need to be destroyed. Surely you agree with me? They are a threat, every single one of them!"

Chizuru's father Kyosuke spoke up once again, "Enough! We are going nowhere with this useless squabbles. As the current head of the Yata clan, I demand that you cease these brutal actions against the Orochi clan at once. If they resist, fine, that's the only time you should use your powers to incapacitate them. But know this! If I caught wind that you three, especially you, started torturing defenseless women and children yet again, so help me, I will kill all of you personally! Even if you are my wife! Do I make myself clear?!"

"Fine, as you wish, oh great clan head…" one of the three replied sarcastically.

-----

_Chizuru stopped her kata and sat down. That was the day when her beliefs were shattered and the last day her family would ever be together again. Who would've thought that there was turmoil within the Yata clan? Some of their clan members took it upon themselves to kill all Orochi clan members which include both women and children. The worse thing was that Mature was right about one thing; her mother was one of those people who believed that the Orochi clan should be destroyed…_

-----

"Uhn, where am I?"

"In your room, father found you unconscious somewhere inside the house so he brought you back here."

That brought Chizuru back to her senses. She immediately sat up and stared at her sister. "Maki, where's mother and father? I want to ask them something, it's very important."

Maki blinked at the serious tone Chizuru used. "Okay, you're scaring me a little. Why the rush anyway? It's not like it's the end of the world or anything…" She stepped back when her sister glared at her. "…hai hai, they're at the shrine, talking to some gaijin priest about something. Well, I might as well see where this is going."

The sisters soon arrived in then Yata shrine but they quickly hid when they heard shouting coming from inside. Maki and Chizuru took a peek in a small hole on the side to see their parents arguing with a tall, gaijin man.

"How? How did you get past the seal?"

Goenitz grinned, held his hand up and pointed to his ring, which has a snake design on it. "As long as I wear this, I am pretty much undetectable to your pitiful powers. Now, are we going to talk civilly or do I have to destroy your entire clan to get what I want?"

Chizuru's mother Hikaru stepped up. "You will not lay a finger on my children!"

"I see… that's just too bad. Now then, come and pray to your god!"

The Hakkeshu of Wind blurred and reappeared behind the two. He casually swatted the two to opposite walls. That was all the sisters needed to see. Both Chizuru and Maki chose this time to barge into the room and stand in front of their parents, completely ignoring their own fears.

"Ah, the mirror keepers! Thank you, you saved me the trouble of hunting you down."

The sisters knelt beside their mother and father to see if they're alright but both Hikaru and Kyosuke shoved the two towards the door. "Go! He wants to kill the two of you! Maki! Take Chizuru and get out of here, now!"

"Mother! Father!"

"Hm hm hm, why bother? You'll never make it alive anyway. It is best that you stick together as a family and start praying to your god!" Goenitz bellowed as his winds easily tore the shrine roof apart. Kyosuke's eyes widened when he saw a huge wind void in the sky, a void that was rapidly tearing the entire Yata estate apart, along with the rest of the clan members.

"Repent, while you are still able!"

-----

_Fortunately or unfortunately, even now she doesn't know which one was which, Reiko's mother came into the room and carried her away from that monster, away from her family. When she came to next morning, her family was already buried by the few clan members that have survived the massacre._

* * *

Ranma whistled a soft tune as he wandered around the ship. Well, at least he got Mature to talk about some of her plans about reviving Orochi, though he was quite sure that her voice wavered when he asked about the temple of worship and the place for the true seal of Orochi. _'I guess she doesn't trust me that much, heheh, I'm used to it by now… eh? What's that?'_

He stared in awe at the sight of Chizuru dancing with her illusion. He was so entranced that he didn't notice that he was walking closer towards her. But he came to his senses when the priestess suddenly fell to her knees. He was about to try and help her up when she sensed his presence and quickly sent a few wards that struck his arm. "Ow! That burns! Wait! I'm not here to fight."

Chizuru remained on guard though. "What are you doing here? And how long have you been watching me?"

Ranma winced again before concentrating on his arm to quickly nullify the seal, causing Chizuru's eyes to widen in shock. He saw the questioning look and sighed. "Yes, I broke the seal. It seems that the people from my tribe have inborn countermeasures to all Yata seals."

"So that's how you were able to save me…"

"Yes." _'She seems to be taking this well…? Are those tears?'_

After a few more reasoning on Ranma's part, he was able to convince Chizuru to drop her guard. The two were now gazing at the sunset as they leaned on the railing.

"Strange…" Chizuru began with a small smile.

"What is?"

Chizuru tried to suppress a small giggle, making Ranma blink in surprise. "You have no malice in you, at least, not at the moment." She saw the puzzled look on his face. "I probed you with my mirror. It can easily see through people's motives if given enough time, and you have no ulterior ones."

Ranma nodded slowly, before a butterfly chose to rest on his nose. His eyes crossed and then he began sneezing uncontrollably, but he was paying more attention to the mirthful laughter coming from the Kagura priestess. "Achoo! Erm, you have a beautiful voice there, Chizuru." _'Where did that come from?'_

The Kagura priestess gasped and turned away, trembling slightly.

"Ah, whatever it was that I did, I'm sorry!"

Chizuru's body shook as she laughed again. "It's really hard to imagine that you're one of Orochi blood, you're just too nice." _'Not to mention, you probably are the most pure-hearted individual I've come across in a long while.'_

Ranma became teary-eyed. "Thanks, even though the rest of the world seemed to think otherwise. Not that I blame them, their fears are justified, I still have demon's blood in me and I will become a liability if I stay with humans for long."

"You mean the Orochi Riot of Blood?"

"That's only one of two reasons because I'm an Orochi half-breed. The other one is far more dangerous, and that is the awakening process." He saw the curious yet sympathetic look from the priestess yet again. "It's a process that Orochi clan members go through when a certain requirement is met. It awakens the dormant blood in you and brings out your true potential without losing yourself, but you will also be bombarded with the memories of your ancestors, the time when they were murdered for no apparent reason. That alone is enough to change a person's behavior upside down."

Chizuru remained silent until she hesitantly asked, "How do you know all of this?"

"I… I… went through the process but I was stopped by a friend before it could completely overwhelm me." _'But not before fully inheriting the memories…'_

"I see… uhn…"

Ranma gently caught her as she lost her balance all of a sudden. "Hey, you okay? Geez, you're burning up! Come on, I'll take you to the clinic."

Chizuru shook her head and stepped back. "I'll be fine, I can heal myself. I should be alright tomorrow so it's really not necessary. Thanks for the concern though."

"If you say so…"

The priestess smiled genuinely. "Ranma, is it? I want to thank you, I've never laughed so freely before yet you easily made me do it and you're pretty good company too. Haha, I never thought I'd say that to an Orochi clan member." _'And you're starting to change my views about a few Orochi clan members as well.'_

Ranma smiled back. "Ha, and I never thought I'd say this to you after our little skirmish at your shrine, thank you for not judging me so quickly like before. It truly means a lot to me, Chizuru."

"Well then, goodnight. And good luck in your match tomorrow."

"Yeah, thanks again."

* * *

**Next day, Southtown: Tournament Arena**

_Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the second match of the quarter finals! The fight will be between the Hakkeshu Team and the Legendary Lonely Wolves Team! Fighters, please step into the arena!_

"Hey Ter, where's Andy?" Joe whispered to the ponytailed blonde.

Terry shrugged and shook his head. "I have absolutely no idea. I last saw him looking out for Mai inside the hospital since arriving here yesterday. I haven't seen hide nor hair of him since then."

Joe scratched his chin, as if in deep thought. "Hmm, now that I think about it, me too, I never really saw any sign of him since yesterday. Oh and I visited Mai today and I found out that she's gone, the doctors said that except for a few sore ribs, there's nothing else wrong with her now so she can go out. Ter, get this, the doctors also said that she was being carried by a long-haired, good-looking blonde man…"

Terry looked at him, and a look of understanding slowly creased his face. "Oh… good for them."

"I guess it's just us today, eh, buddy?"

"Yeah."

Joe cracked his knuckles. "Let's get the party started! Oh and Ter, I'll take on the chick if you don't mind."

Terry just bowed, smiled and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Joe."

* * *

Joe rubbed his nose, held a palm up and smiled at his opponent. "No need to tell me lady, Joe Higashi understands what you want. After all, no one can resist my charms so why don't you just give up the match and be my girlfriend instead? A hot chick like you is perfect for someone like me, the kickboxing champion! Oh yeah! Ora! Ora!"

Mature just stared at this… thing in front of her with utter disgust. _'Great, my opponent, the retard.' _"Uh, hey, um, earth to moron?"

"Huh? Yeah, what is it babe?"

"Do us all a favor and just die!" Mature crossed her arms, raised them upwards, and then brought them back down, slashing the kickboxer's body and producing a cross wound on his chest. Then she kicked the wound, pushed him back, and leapt after him as she twirled in midair and performed a slashing motion with her hands.

Joe screamed when Mature's attack struck him once more on the chest, drawing more blood out of him. He blocked out the pain, ducked down to avoid the blonde's next strike, and jumped towards her with a knee extended forward. His attack hit Mature on the chin, but rather than knocking her up in the air, it only made her even madder than before. _'Oh shoot, I forgot, this one worked under Rugal and Goenitz!'_

"I'll kill you!"

A slash here, a thrust there, Joe couldn't really defend against it, especially when your opponent uses her fingernails as weapons, so it will not matter if you do manage to raise an arm to try and block it, she will still hit you.

To the surprise of Kyo, Iori and Chizuru, Mature crossed her arms once again as she clamped onto Joe's neck. It was very similar to Goenitz' bloody choke hold… and they were right. Mature lifted the kickboxer up, buried her fingers to the sides of his neck, and immediately drew blood.

Chizuru's eyes narrowed when she saw a white glow began to surround Mature as the blonde let out a low moan. The priestess gasped when Mature swiftly turned her hands, thus leaving Joe's neck at a very awkward position. She didn't care if the fight wasn't over; the Kagura priestess immediately ordered the med team to rush to Higashi's aid. Then she glared at Mature who responded with a glare of her own as she stepped away from her opponent.

* * *

Terry looked to his left and couldn't help but grit his teeth when he saw his partner go down. _'Damn, I guess there's only me.'_ He turned his attention back to his opponent, only to find out that Ranma was already in front of him. He tried blocking the attack, which he assumed was a straight punch to the face but to his surprise, the young teen feinted, ducked down, and hit him with an uppercut instead.

Ranma leapt after the blonde and delivered a couple of kicks to the sides before using Terry's chest to hop up and spin kick the staggering blonde on the face, which was enough to send him back down, hard. Ranma wasn't finished yet, he jumped at his opponent once more and punched him a few more times in the stomach, forcing the lone wolf to cough up some blood.

The ponytailed blonde countered by grabbing Ranma on the shoulders, kicked him in the stomach and then tossed him up. Ranma landed safely but Terry ran towards him, hopped a little and spun his leg around.

"Crack Shoot!"

Ranma blocked the high-angled kick with his right arm. Terry's attack had enough force in it to create a small crater under the place they were fighting at. Terry tried to break through the guard while Ranma was wide-eyed as he muttered the words 'this move' over and over again.

Terry finally broke through the guard and struck Ranma's unprotected face, sending him a few feet back as he crashed to the ground. _'What's wrong with him? I thought he's better than this.'_

"It really is you…"

Ranma slowly got up, wiped his mouth with his fist and a familiar smirk made its way to his face. "This is great, I can finally see if I can now match the skill I saw then and now. Let's go!"

The ponytailed blonde paused when Ranma began to mimic his fighting stance. _'Do I know this kid?'_ "I'm kinda disappointed in you kid. I never thought that you'd be the type to copy someone else's fighting style."

"Copy? Who said anything about copying OUR style?" Ranma asked, causing Terry to look at him in shock. Then the smirk of the Saotome Ranma of old got wider as he spoke, "You don't remember me? I guess that's understandable. It has been quite a long time, but I'll tell you this much though, I have been itching to pay you back for what you did to me. Now, come on and fight!"

Terry just raised an inquisitive eyebrow all the while thinking why this teen in front of him was so familiar. _'Shoot, I can't remember… but I know I've met him somewhere before. He said our style, was he one of father's students? Nah, can't be… he's too young.'_

Ranma hunched slightly and gestured to the lone wolf to make the first move. His opponent complied with a running hook, which he blocked by raising an arm up to the side of his face. He dropped down and attempted a leg sweep to the lone wolf but he cancelled the move as he changed it with a shocker to Terry and some of the Garou fans; he placed one hand on the floor, pushed himself up with it and spun around, with his other hand stretched forward.

"Rising Tackle!"

Terry got hit in the face a few times but didn't seem to mind. He distanced himself from Ranma before wiping some blood tricking down one side of his mouth. _'Saotome? Where have I…? Of course!'_

"Heh, I think I deserve a perfect score for that one. So, do you remember me now?"

Terry chuckled softly as he unexpectedly removed his hat and then threw it to the crowd. He closed his eyes and smiled, placing a hand on the lock on his ponytail and to the bafflement of the crowd and the rest of the fighters, including both Geese and Krauser, Ranma did the same. Both warriors smiled as they simultaneously removed their ponytail hairstyle, let their hair down, and went into similar fighting styles.

"You've aged well."

"And you still look like hell, squirt."

After that brief exchange, the two began trading punches left and right. To the crowd, it looks as if both of them were fighting a mirror; Terry's blows were not getting through and the same goes for Ranma. Speaking of the half-breed, he had a face that says 'I can beat you' while Terry had something that says 'Nope, not in your life'.

The two warriors finally got a hit in at the same time. Terry received a blow to the ribs while Ranma received a blow in the face. Terry's eyes widened when he noticed that Ranma's free hand was starting to glow. He pushed the teen back as he tried to distance himself while gathering his own energy through his already outstretched arm.

"Buster Wolf!"

"Mouko Takabisha!"

* * *

The outcome of the energy clash was not what Ranma had expected. His Mouko Takabisha was surprisingly snuffed out by Terry's Buster Wolf and the latter was now headed towards him, much faster than before, thus giving him absolutely no chance of escape. He was flung back and was promptly slammed to the far wall. __

Terry rushed after him, jumped up and swung his fist down on Ranma, who was currently struggling to get out of the deep indention on the wall. "Power Dunk!"

Ranma was buried even deeper into the wall because of that punch, before the rest of it collapsed on him. He yelled as he blasted his way out of the rubble and flipped back up to face Terry. He took one step forward before he found himself falling to his knees, seemingly out of breath. Once again, it was a mere ruse as he punched Terry once he got close enough.

The two traded blows yet again but this time, they were not even attempting to block the blows they're receiving. The spectators cheered on and frantically cheered for either Ranma or Terry. After a few sickening hits, both of them were flung back when they attempted their ki blasts again, Terry quickly got up but Ranma was panting like crazy.

"You're a bit rusty. You should spread your legs more, shorten the distance between your arms and lower your head a little bit. You'll be able to guard my punches a lot better even though you're feeling tired." Terry scolded the teen with a tired smile.

Ranma was not in the mood for any of it though. "Stop the damn lessons and fight me, old man! I'm not a kid anymore so don't treat me like one! Fight me for real this time dammit and fight me now!"

That heated statement raised eyebrows to the rest of the fighters except for the two figures watching from above. Mature also had a puzzled look on her face. "Old man…?" _'Now what's he talking about this time? First it was Orochi's past with the dragon and now this?'_

Terry bowed his head and muttered 'very well squirt' as strong waves of energy began to gather around his right arm. He dashed forward and drew his right arm back. "Burn Knuckle!"

"Yeah, that's the move!" Ranma shouted enthusiastically, dashing forward, and drew back his right arm, palms flat and all, as he shouted, "Dokuja Tanketsu Sho!"

Both warriors stood frozen in the middle for a long time but a certain redhead just laughed maniacally at the outcome. Iori shook his head and smiled, he got up from the wall he was leaning on and started to walk away, with his partner right behind him. "Déjà vu…"

_Wow… Oh! Um… both Terry Bogard and Ranma Saotome are down and out. And Joe Higashi is seriously injured, that only leaves Mature who is left standing on the arena which means that the winner of the match… the Hakkeshu Team!_

* * *

"That was… peculiar. That is not the same man I fought before." Krauser muttered.

"True. I've never seen Bogard smile like that, especially in a fight."

Krauser smirked. "Of course you haven't, you're the one who took it away from him if the information I have received are accurate." His smirk got wider as he continued. "In any case, he has defeated the Garou fighters, even if it was a lucky victory. I can't wait to be the one to 'educate' him in our match."

Geese let off an evil chuckle. "And I have just the thing to make him the perfect subject." He looked to his side and a couple of files and folders were scattered on the desk, but there was one picture on top of the files, a picture of a woman in her mid-thirties. "I'm sure that after our match is over, he will obey us completely."

* * *

**AN:** Okay, so Terry's buster wolf was from Garou: Mark of the Wolves and KOF 2003, but hey. Sorry about the long delay, but I did finish a few chapters ahead of this one. I'll be updating tomorrow anyway so ja ne!

**Next Broken Souls III: The Real Me**

_"I can't remember the last time I truly felt so alive…"_

_"Shermie…"_


	19. Broken Souls III: The Real Me

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 16: **Broken Souls III: The Real Me**

* * *

"Date?! What date?!"

Ranma scowled as he was just finished being patched up by a doctor inside the clinic. His left eyebrow was starting to twitch a little from the annoying smirk that Chris has on. Bad enough he came barging in here to say that he couldn't even win the match but now the little runt was saying that he promised Shermie that they'll go on a date one of these days.

When did that happen? For the life of him, he really can't remember promising her anything. "You're joking, right? I don't remember making that kind of promise to her at all."

Chris' smirk widened, making Ranma very nervous. "Remember the time where you fought the Ikari Team? You know… the one in which I found you drunk at a bar a few hours after the match. Do you remember it now?"

===**Flashback**===

_"Oh, just leave me alone will ya? I can hick go home by hick myself."_

_Chris gave Ranma a 'yeah right' kind of look. "C'mon, let's get out of here before I use the Bakusai Tenketsu on you."_

_A very intoxicated Ranma chuckled and poked Chris on the nose. "Not gonna hick work, it's only effective on rocks, not on hick humans. Now, leave me alone."_

_"Really…?" Chris asked in a deathly calm tone._

_"Really, now go bother hick somebody else. Like Shermie or your other friend, Yashi- hick -what's his name or somethin'."_

_Chris' eyebrow shot up and a grin slowly made its way onto his face. "Alright, I'll leave you alone sensei but on one condition. You see, I think Shermie is quite fond of you and I think that she would be delighted if you can take her out on a date one of these days and-"_

_"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Ranma mumbled before passing out._

===**End Flashback**===

"Why… you… sneaky… little…"

Chris merely shrugged. "Takes one to know one. At least I got back at you for that Bakusai Tenketsu training. Well, are you gonna do it or not? A promise is a promise…"

Ranma huffed and crossed his arms. "W-Why should I? It's not like I was aware of what I was doing and besides, why would I date one of my students… if you can call her that."

Both blue-eyed boys stared at each other, neither one moving an inch, that is until Chris lowered his head and looked at the floor. "It's not about that Ranma. I just… I just think that you can help her with something. She's really depressed these past couple of days and I thought you could cheer her up a little…"

"… Is it about your team's fight with the Art of Fighting Team?"

Chris went silent for awhile. "Part of it, yeah… we don't know what really happened to Yashiro but he certainly has changed. He apologized for what he did but ever since then he was starting to avoid the two of us. It's as if he wants nothing to do with us anymore and that's too much for Shermie and I to take."

Ranma had a thoughtful look as he leaned back on his bed. "Hmm… I don't know… I mean, I do want to help but I feel that it's not my place. I've only known her for about a couple of weeks and I haven't even talked to her that much during that time." _'Not to mention that I suck at dating women.'_

"I see…" Chris said sadly. "I guess she'll simply continue sulking inside her room, with no one to comfort her besides her 'little brother', who doesn't even have the slightest idea of how to do it. Maybe she'll get really depressed when she thinks that CYS is going to break up and… oh no! She may commit suicide because of it! Isn't there somebody-"

"Alright already! I get the point!"

* * *

**KOF Tournament Ship: Late Afternoon**

"I know I agreed to go along with this but… a tuxedo?"

"Quit complaining, you're here to help, right?"

"Yeah but this thing's tight, you sure I have to wear this?"

"Yes, so stop whining already."

Ranma crossed his arms and frowned half-heartedly. It's no use trying to argue with Chris any further, he somehow knew that he'll never win no matter how hard he tries. He turned to his left when something caught his eye and froze. There was Shermie, coming down the stairs with a very noticeable blush. She was wearing a black, long, silk satin dress with a matching pair of high heels. She had her hair down and her bangs were brushed slightly to the side, revealing her emerald-green eyes.

Chris whistled and nudged Ranma on the side. "Told you it was worth it." He mumbled before noticing that Ranma was still in a trance. He grabbed his ear and whispered, "Hey! Remember what we talked about!"

That snapped the ponytailed boy out of his daze, letting out a dumbfounded 'huh?' before realizing what Chris was getting at. He walked towards Shermie, held out his hand and assisted the redhead down the stairs. To the side, he could hear Chris' somewhat suppressed laughter. He ignored it for now as he spoke, "Uh… s-shall we go?"

Back to Chris, he watched the two leave with a smile but that smile quickly turned to a frown when he sensed an unwanted presence come up from behind. "Leave them alone. It'll be just you and me for today's match so I don't want to hear any kind of crap from you."

* * *

Ranma and Shermie walked around a local park after an interesting dinner conversation. Who'd have thought that Shermie knew Picolet Chardin? It made sense though, Shermie is French. Ranma felt a little angry when he heard that Mr. big lips tried to make Shermie as his bride but he relaxed when she said that she made it 'abundantly clear' that she wanted nothing to do with him, and the details about it really were not for the faint of heart.

The two continued to walk for awhile. Both had their heads turned to the side and by the way they moved it was quite obvious that the two were a little uncomfortable for some reason that only they themselves know. They stopped every now and then when they noticed a few familiar faces along the way.

First was Terry, although still injured, was busy taking to that girl, Blue Mary about something. After saying a quick hi and a few heated exchanges between the two men, they soon met Kyo and Yuki. After a couple of denials from both Shermie and Ranma, Yuki decided to thank the ponytailed teen for saving her life back in Tokyo. Ranma shrugged it off, although he was starting to get annoyed by the guarded stare Kyo was giving him.

Then after awhile they met the most obvious couple amongst the fighters, Andy Bogard and Mai Shiranui. The two girls hit off from the get go, they had so much to talk about, mostly about the men they want in their lives. They went to get some refreshments while the two men sat on a park bench, both were pretty much exhausted already as they gave each other a look that says 'I know your pain man'.

"So your Terry's younger brother?" Ranma asked out of the blue.

Andy glanced at him, realizing that this was the one that fought his brother. "Ah, you're the one that defeated Ter. I never really thought someone as young as you could do it."

Ranma laughed. "Defeated him? You've got to be kidding me. He got me right where he wanted me and I was just lucky that I slipped and got my move through that knocked us both out, my team only won because my partner Mature was the only one conscious after the fight. If you have been there, maybe you guys were the ones that should be advancing instead of us."

"Never met someone like you before, but I have to ask why are you partnered with that woman with Orochi blood or something?"

"It's because I am of Orochi blood as well." Ranma said with a dejected sigh.

The blonde blinked, he thought about leaving in disgust, remembering what Goenitz did to thousands of people with that huge void in the sky, but he knew that this kid really is just a normal teenager. "Oh, did you know about what happened last year?"

Ranma nodded slowly. "Yeah, Goenitz slaughtered all of those people and sent the rest to some kinda large wind void right? Mature and Vice were his accomplices, though they turned on him in the end."

"Who or what is Orochi? What are those two planning anyway?"

"I don't know." He lied. "She doesn't open up to me much either so I can't say much about it." Well, part of it was true. Mature really hasn't told him anything despite a couple of coaxing from him. He shook his head and tried to think of something to change the subject. "Er, um, how about you? Mai, I mean. She really likes you, huh?"

Andy snorted. "Maybe… but I don't like her the same way she likes me. She's always following me around, trying to get me to marry her. I don't like it and I don't love her-"

"Liar." Ranma accused.

"What did you say?!" Andy shouted, standing up and glaring at the ponytailed boy. "Who are you calling a liar?!"

Ranma just smiled and shook his head sadly. _'I can't believe I'm going to say this to someone older than me.' _"Would you calm down? I called you a liar because of two reasons. One is because your feelings for her are pretty much obvious to everyone and the second reason is because those feelings are the exact opposite of what you were saying."

Andy growled. "What would you know? You're just a young punk!"

"Maybe so, but I'm a young punk who already went through the exact same thing you're going through." Ranma snapped back, standing up and matching Andy's intense glare. "I know where this is going, you blatantly deny any sort of feelings for her but you'll quickly drop that charade and risk your life once she's in danger."

The younger Bogard paused, his hands clenching and unclenching. He couldn't reply to what Ranma had said so he broke his gaze and looked to his side, where Mai and Shermie were busy talking.

Ranma placed a hand on Andy's shoulder. "I just hope that your relationship doesn't end up like mine. If you really love her then just tell her already, there is no point in delaying it because you'll never know what will happen tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe it'll be too late to tell her by then…" he trailed off, leaving Andy behind.

"And what about you? What are you doing now?"

"I…" Ranma hesitated. "I just want a place to belong… a place to come home to… and perhaps, even a place to be loved for what I am…"

* * *

"Soooo… what did you and Andy talk about?" Shermie inquired.

"Uh, nothin'." Ranma babbled out.

Shermie giggled. "Uh-huh, and I'm a ditzy blonde. Now what did you two really talk about? Is it by any chance, about me and Mai?" she teased, trying to cover up a blush of her own.

Ranma frantically shook his head. "It's really nothin' Shermie. It's just something about the fight with his older brother Terry, that's all it is! Honest!"

"I guess so…" she said sadly. "Hey Ranma, care to dance?"

"What? Right here? In the middle of the park? I-I-I'm not really that good a dancer and I would probably end up stepping on your foot or something… Ack!"

The redhead smiled, grabbed his arm, and literally dragged him to a spacious spot beside a fountain. She clasped his hands and began to show him the steps in her own version of the waltz. Ranma fumbled a bit but he never really let Shermie hit the ground when he made a mistake. After a few embarrassing situations, he finally got the basics down and was able to dance with her in rhythm.

Soon, Ranma was enjoying it as much as Shermie is. The feel of the wind blowing through your hair as you spun around, it made him feel… free, without any burden, without any problems whatsoever. They finished their dance by spinning one more time and then clasping each other's hands as they looked at each other with cheerful smiles. Then they heard a thunderous round of applause that brought them back to reality.

It seems that a large crowd has gathered to watch their performance. They quickly parted and laughed a little before Ranma, by some near-impossible chance, got splashed by the fountain water which the transformation made the crowd stare at her with wide eyes. The two chose this time to run away and head back to the tournament ship. Both panted as Onna-Ranma escorted Shermie back to her room.

"Thank you for showing me a great time Ranma. I can't remember the last time I truly felt so alive like this…"

"Shermie…"

Onna-Ranma twitched when she noticed that Shermie has inclined her head, closing her eyes as she slowly removed the distance between their faces. The ponytailed teen was at a loss for words, her brain was running into overdrive and her emotions were fighting it out. _'I shouldn't be doing this, I haven't even told her about my heritage yet. What would she think when she finds out that she kissed someone who isn't even human? And I'm currently a girl! Wha… wha… wha…?'_

It was too late now, Shermie pressed her lips into hers and Onna-Ranma's eyes were now as wide as saucers. Sure she has been kissed when in female form but never by another woman! Shermie broke the kiss and immediately ran to her room, leaving a shell-shocked Onna-Ranma behind.

* * *

Shermie leaned on the door and immediately clutched her chest as she took a few deep breaths. After a few minutes, she finally regained some sort of composure. That wasn't anything like she imagined, it was far more wonderful than what she ever hoped it could be. She ran a finger on her lips and couldn't help but giggle at the look on Onna-Ranma's face. _'She may be female but she's still a man inside…'_ she thought with a sigh.

She leapt forward and spun around, giggling to herself as she did so. Her little dance was cut short when she noticed the piece of paper on the table. She picked it up and began to read it, her eyes widening by the second as she let off a surprised gasp. "Oh my, the fight!"

The redhead was about to head for the door when she noticed a few electric arcs coursing around her hand. She took a few steps back, not sure what to make of this. She tried touching them but all it ever did was sent the electric arcs all over her body, making her scream out loud before dropping to the ground, with the electricity still coursing through her unconscious body.

* * *

**Southtown: Tournament Arena**

"Not very talkative this time around, eh?" Iori asked, punching Yashiro a couple of times in the gut. Then he kicked the New Face Team leader on the chest, sending him skidding back a few feet. "Hm hm hm, and you're a lot tougher than I remembered…"

Yashiro's stoic demeanor remained unchanged. He hunched forward right before rushing into his opponent. He grabbed Iori on his right shoulder and tossed him up high. He looked at Iori right before he slammed his fist into the ground, causing the floor to explode upon impact and making a few large rocks go up towards his descending opponent.

"Is that all you've got?!"

Iori punched right through the rocks but after breaking the last one, he was sent right back up by a kick to his stomach. He instinctively clutched it but that proved to be a huge mistake when Yashiro decided to go after him. Yashiro grabbed his shoulder, flipped over him and threw him right onto the floor. He winced as he got up, only to go back down when a huge rock struck his chest, causing him to cough up blood.

Yashiro stared coldly at Iori's downed form. He knelt down, grabbed him by the head, and slammed it right back to the floor several times. To add insult to injury, Yashiro stood up and stomped on Iori's chest as he grinned to the thousands of fans watching their fight. The worst part is that most of the crowd loved it, they haven't forgotten what Iori did a year ago when he turned into a berserker on television.

"Beat him up!"

"Make him pay for the people he murdered!"

"Yeah! Kick his ass!"

Yashiro chuckled. "You heard the crowd. They want you to pay…" He leaned in closer to Iori with a wide grin and whispered, "…for going into the Orochi Riot of Blood, eh, dog-boy?"

Iori's eyes widened but before he could react any further, Yashiro lifted him up, wrapped both arms around his waist and held him in a crushing bearhug. "And I think now is a good time for you to pay up, dog-boy!"

* * *

"I'm down here!" Chris crouched and kicked Vice's left foot, which forced her to lose her balance. He jumped up and then dove for his opponent with his hands extended forward. "Sorry about this lady!"

Vice looked up and caught his hands without any real effort. "Sorry? I should be the one who should apologize… for doing this!" She held on to his hands, sprinted forward and slammed Chris to a wall. "Hmph, so arrogant, you act as if you know everything. But this should bring you down a peg or two."

"Really? Well, look behind you!"

Vice jumped from the voice, she took a second to look at the wall in front of her, only to find out that the blue-eyed boy was now gone. She spun and received a blow to the head for her troubles. She recovered but got a few more kicks to her face and an intense palm strike to her chest, sending her to the wall she was facing a moment ago.

Chris stood in front of her and cupped his hands to his side. "I think that this is enough for you… Mouko Takabisha… BURST!" he shouted, a light blue, short-range ki blast swallowed his opponent whole and destroyed the wall in the process.

_'Why do I feel like I'm on fire?' _Chris thought, clutching his chest tightly as he gasped for air. He stared forward intently, trying to look past the thick cloud of dust that has accumulated around the area.

"Too slow!"

A set of hands suddenly emerged amidst the dust and clamped onto Chris' neck. Vice stepped up, sunk her fingers into the boy's neck and then performed a slashing motion which brutally tore the young man's skin. The wound wasn't as deep as the crowd thought it would be, but it was enough to send Chris to his knees as he struggled to breathe.

"Kutabare!"

Vice grinned when she grabbed Chris by the head and forced the boy to look at her eyes, which were now slitted. The blue-eyed boy screamed as Vice forced her energy into him through her hands. "Let's see if you really are the one we are looking for."

Chris screamed and called for Yashiro but the blonde blatantly ignored his pleas for help and continued to tighten his hold on Iori. A few moments passed, and Chris finally gave in to whatever attack Vice pulled and passed out.

The redhead reluctantly released her grip and let the boy's body slump to the ground. For the life of her, she couldn't explain what happened during her attack. She did the same to Saisyu, and nothing of the sort has ever happened before. She lost her powers temporarily, yes, but she did not receive a few garbled images from the minds of her victims except for this one. _'This is a problem… does this mean that there are two vessels…? Damn it Goenitz, why didn't you tell us about this?!'_

* * *

"What's wrong? You're not smiling anymore, Yagami."

Yashiro tightened his hold, forcing another scream out of Iori. A few cracks from the redhead's body were already being heard by the crowd, making them turn their eyes away from the fight between these two. "Isn't this your line? Cry and scream in pain!"

Iori rapidly shook his head as he continued to struggle against Yashiro's grasp. Blood was starting to come out of his mouth once more and he could feel that his body would not be able to resist much longer. "You… forgot… one… thing…"

"Eh? What's that, dog-boy?"

"DIE!!!"

The redhead delivered several consecutive headbutts to Yashiro, causing him to stagger and loosen his hold. He used the remaining amount of strength he had left to completely break free of the hold. Iori went to his knees and gasped for air. _'How in the hell can he stand up after that? No one can take that much punishment and not go down… what is this guy made of?'_

Yashiro let off a sinister laughter as he focused his attention back at Iori with those vicious red eyes. "Who's the weakling now? Ya can't beat me Yagami, but I sure as hell can beat the crap outta you!"

"Hm hm hm hm…"

Yashiro frowned slightly, not sure what in the world Yagami is doing at a time like this. He hardened his gaze, leaned closer and asked, "What's so funny, dog-boy?"

Iori placed a hand on his face. "Heh heh heh heh… Hah hah hah hah!!! Oh, what a moron! You fell for it! Raku ni wa shinenzou!"

A circular energy of purple flames erupted from under Yashiro, instantly paralyzing his entire body. Iori used this chance to pounce at the still frozen blonde with the intent of finishing the fight. He tore through Yashiro's clothes and gave his opponent multiple slashes all over his body, and then he topped it off by performing a light shoulder tackle, into a face grab and he buried Yashiro's head into the ground. "Shine!"

Iori sent a few small flame bursts into the hand that was still clamped onto Yashiro. He ended it by pounding both of his flame-covered fists to Yashiro's chest. "If I recall, this is your line… STAY DOWN!!!"

Yashiro reflexively gasped for air as the attack connected. He did it for a few more seconds before his eyes rolled back and eventually lost consciousness as he muttered, "This… isn't… over…"

_The winner of the match… the Yagami Team! The semi-finals matches have been set. The first match is going to be between the Hero Team and the Yagami Team while the second match is between the Boss Team and the Hakkeshu Team! Please look forward to it soon!_

Iori started muttering to himself as he left the arena, with a smiling Vice right behind him. Had he stayed a little longer, he would've eventually noticed the knowing smile on the face of the supposedly out cold Yashiro.

* * *

**AN: **Alright, the polls will resume right now but it will close when the next chapter is done.

There are only two girls this time, Shermie and Chizuru were tied in the votes last time so we'll start the voting from scratch, those who have voted can vote again and those who haven't, here's your chance. Please take time to vote. I've already finished the two outlines; all I really need now is the person Ranma should end up with. Your votes will also determine what the ending will be (semi-dark, happy, etc…), so please vote, onegai!

I'll get into Vice eventually, if that's what you're wondering. The Resurrection arc starts next chapter. It's nearing the end and I promise that questions will be answered when everything is over. Ja ne!

**Next Interlude IV: A Life to Live…**

_A side story on the lives of the Ranma cast, along with Ranma's thoughts with the people around him._


	20. Interlude IV: A Life to Live

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Ugh… shutting up now… oi…****

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Interlude IV: **A Life to Live**

* * *

**Saotome Home**

"It has been a while since we've seen each other, Nodoka." Shizuka Kusanagi said as she prepared for a tea ceremony with her long time friend.

Nodoka nodded. "Yes it has, Shizuka. If I recall correctly, last time we saw each other was at Okinawa. You finished your final job for your original clan and… oh yes, Saisyu was as troublesome as ever." she finished with a hint of disgust.

"Oh come on, Nodoka. You really haven't forgiven him for the stunt he pulled a couple of years ago, huh?" Shizuka chuckled, handing Nodoka her teacup.

The auburn-haired woman frowned. "By 'stunt', do you mean that one time where he tried to kill me and my little boy for just having Orochi blood?" Nodoka all but shrieked. She was totally oblivious to the fact that her katana was already out and was pointed to her friend's throat.

"Um, Nodoka…? The sword…?"

Nodoka blinked several times before she realized what she was doing. "Oh! Um… oops! I'm sorry about that Shizuka, it's just that your husband can sometimes be a pain in the-ahem, pardon me, a thorn in my side at times."

Shizuka waved it off. "It's quite alright. I knew what I was getting myself into when I married that stubborn, arrogant, prideful and chauvinistic fool. When I found out that he was the head of the Kusanagi clan, I almost had a heart attack, since I was helping some of the Orochi clan members escape from Goenitz at that time."

"And we thank you for that. And I thank you for helping my son out when he was being hunted down by the entire police force of Osaka…" Nodoka said with a few sweatdrops. "…he probably got it from his panda-father…"

"I'll bet! But you really shouldn't have played that seppuku bit on him, I can clearly see that he was wary of the katana I was holding back then and I observed that he is still a little cautious around you, Nodoka."

Nodoka became teary-eyed. "It… It was a mistake on my part, I was too distracted by Goenitz' presence to even think straight. I just had to get Ranma away from the area as soon as possible but Genma just had to make that seppuku contract."

Shizuka sighed sadly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, it's alright. At least, if we make it through this, I can have another chance with my son."

* * *

**Tendo Home**

Kasumi was inside her room, staring wistfully at the picture in her hands. It was a picture of everyone in Nerima during last year's Christmas get-together, just a few months before that life-changing trip to China. Strange how all of them took things for granted, they never really knew what they had until it's gone.

She giggled a bit when she remembered what the group was doing the moment the picture was taken. Shampoo, Ukyou and Kodachi were at one side, arguing amongst themselves on who gets to give their present to Ranma-kun. Mousse, Kuno, Ryoga were at the other side, trying to decide which one of them gets to take on Ranma-kun while a sweating Ranko, a quivering Mr. Panda, a nervous Akane and a smiling Mrs. Saotome were in the middle along with her father, Nabiki and herself.

This picture was probably the last time the entire group will ever be together. Shampoo-chan and the rest of the amazons are gone and probably will never return, even if Ranma-kun is alive, news like that can't travel to China, can it? He is the only reason as to why they decided to stay here in Nerima anyway.

Ukyou, she hasn't heard anything from her in a long time. She hasn't even seen Konatsu or even Tsubasa since that 'gathering' by Nabiki a few weeks back.

At least Ryoga-kun was doing well. Back at the hospital, Akari-chan said that they will be married by the end of the year. She wishes them the best of luck, Ryoga-kun does deserve to have a little bit of happiness, even if she still has not quite forgiven him for that P-chan stunt of his.

Her body trembled when she recalled what Ranma had said. Those vicious violet eyes of his… wait a second… violet eyes? Yes, that's what she saw at Auntie's house, they were definitely violet. Not just his eyes, the way he moved, the way he talked, the way he acted… it's as if he suddenly became a different person that day.

But all those things he said about her were all true. Contrary to what people believe, she is not oblivious to the happenings around her, far from it. She somehow felt that Ranma knew all along but he kept quiet about it. Yes, she was hoping that the problems surrounding Ranma-kun and everybody else would simply just go away someday.

Mother… almost everything about herself now reminds her of their dear, departed mother, and she hates it. Every time she cooks, cleans, helps others, and put on that cheerful smile, all of it was her mother's. She really doesn't want to do any of these things anymore, it reminds her of something she may have lost forever… herself. _'I can't even remember what I was like as a child, before mother died.'_

She finally snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a loud knock coming from their front door. She got out of her room and put on that cheerful smile as she began another day of someone else's life.

* * *

Soun Tendo watched from the door as his youngest daughter tried to do some of the more advanced katas of the Tendo branch of Anything Goes. _'They've all grown up… while I stayed in the past…'_

It was quite an interesting experience to see things in a different light, for him to finally open his eyes to the truth made him happy yet sad at the same time. Happy because he saw what his daughters have accomplished on their own, their strong will and the responsibilities they took at such a young age. But that's also the reason as to why he's so miserable. True, a person needed some time to grieve over the loss of a loved one but he never should have neglected his daughters, that was cowardly and pathetic, and he was seeing the effects of it now.

Kasumi was as polite as ever but he could tell that there was a certain amount of disgust in her voice when talking to him. Nabiki has lost all respect for him, that much he could tell, but he doesn't know if her feelings run a little bit deeper than that. Finally comes Akane… he ignored the happenings around his youngest daughter and she grew up without someone to really guide her. What was worse is that he probably was one of the persons responsible in pushing Ranma away, maybe for good.

_'No more, please help me love, please help me get our family back.'_

"Hiyah! Huh…? Dad…?"

"I can show you the right form on that one Akane, if you want…"

Akane blinked before nodding and smiling slightly, causing Soun to breathe a sigh of relief. He'll never be able to change the past, but what he can do was start a new life with his daughters.

* * *

Nabiki shrieked in frustration as she glared at the files in her hands. Someone was obviously protecting that monster Saotome. She hates to admit it but her connections can only go so far, she was only a high school student for crying out loud! And the one protecting Ranma was clearly far beyond her reach.

She stood up, walked towards the mirror and began to remove her upper clothing. She snarled as she gazed at the multiple scars all over her body. The wounds she received from those vacuum blades were a lot deeper than everyone thought. What's worse was that the burn mark that begins on her right shoulder and ends just below her right breast hurts like hell, the pain has not receded and it seems to be getting worse with each passing day.

Damn him! It's all his fault! Kasumi was too scared to say anything while Akane seemed to have completely shut the incident out of her mind. She heard from that monster's mother that they weren't even human in the first place! But she kind of expected something like that considering the weird things that have happened so far around him.

**"It's good to see you again…"**

Nabiki jumped from the sudden intrusion. Wait… the door and windows are locked so who could've said that? She looked all over her room, inside her closet and even under her bed but no one was there. She shrugged and was about to go to sleep when her window suddenly opened and a strong gust of wind made its way to her room.

"Who are you?! Show yourself pervert!" she yelled, grabbing a towel to cover herself up.

She got no response. It must be some kind of prank from someone with a death wish. If it is, then there would be hell to pay because nobody messes with her inside Nerima. She closed the window, but gasped in surprise when she suddenly felt someone come up from behind. She turned hesitantly and she soon found herself lifted in the air when a hand clamped onto her head.

Nabiki tried to call for help but she was so surprised at the turn of events. She could've easily yelled for help but she didn't, she felt that she was safe from whatever this man was about to do. She closed her eyes, and a surge of energy covered her entire body for a second or two. The man released his grip and Nabiki limply fell on the floor, unconscious. Then the man disappeared into the darkness as he muttered one more thing to the middle Tendo girl.

**"Welcome back…"**

* * *

Ukyou slumped against Konatsu's body, totally exhausted. You would too if you just finished crying after countless hours. Her father did not understand at all, and she was promptly disowned for refusing to pursue Ranma and for refusing to kill the defenseless Genma Saotome. She had nothing now, if Konatsu wasn't watching her every move, she would've killed herself by now.

Konatsu, for his part, suddenly got the urge to kill someone, mainly Ukyou-sama's father. Ukyou-sama was suffering and he could do nothing about it. He feels so helpless, maybe he really was nothing but a failure.

"Hey, Konatsu…"

"What is it, Ukyou-sama?"

Ukyou looked at him with lifeless eyes. "I, I don't want to trouble you any further. Please leave, I don't want you near me ever again."

"No, I will not."

"Dammit, what part of it don't you understand?! I don't want you in my life anymore! You're useless to me and your ninja tricks can't help me either! Leave me alone! Just like father… just like Ranc-Ranma did…"

Konatsu remained silent but he gave her a gentle embrace, making her cry even more as she hugged him back. The two of them were alone now, and they don't know where to go from here.

* * *

"Kuso… I'll make you pay Ranma! You will pay for what you've done!" Ryoga shouted, breaking the large boulder in front of him with one punch.

"Ryoga-kun, please get a hold of yourself. Please, for me?" Akari pleaded, grabbing onto one of Ryoga's arms and clutched it tightly.

Ryoga growled, took a few deep breaths to clear his head before finally nodding. He never could deny her anything but his desire to defeat Ranma and make him pay for what he did was too much at times. Sure, Akane hated him after finding out about his Jusenkyo curse, but that doesn't mean that he could care less as to what happens to her. He still cares for her despite the fact that he loves Akari now.

"Don't push yourself too hard Ryoga-kun, I hate it when you look like you've just killed someone…"

The fanged teen looked at her in surprise. _'I look like… a murderer? Heh, I guess I do look like one when I'm thinking of that womanizing jerk. Ah damn, I don't want to make her cry.' _"Alright Akari, one more time, just one more time…"

"Huh?"

"I'll fight Ranma one more time and after that, I promise that you'll never see that look on my face ever again."

* * *

**China******

_'You stupid idiot… you stupid idiot…'_

Shampoo was currently staring at Mousse's grave with a neutral look. _'I'm all alone. Great-grandmother, Ranma and now you are gone. You stupid duck! Now who's going to help me in overthrowing the elders? Those old hags want revenge on Ranma but they can't act because the rest of the amazons are in total disarray. I guess most of them realize the truth in Ranma's words.'_

"Xian Pu, it's time."

Shampoo turned and nodded to the amazon guards. She held out her hands and the guards carefully chained it. She guessed that attacking the four elders with the intent to kill them was not a very good idea. Now she's facing her trial, and if the elders have their way, it will not be a pleasant one. It'll be up to the gods whether or not she would live to see another day.

"Great-grandmother, Ranma, and Mu Tsu, give me strength."

* * *

"I see… so that's what happened."

Herb was currently being tended to by the Musk healers. He woke up just a few hours ago and Mint has already told him about the conclusion of his fight with Saotome. _'Four deep slashes to my chest… it's a wound a predator would do to its prey. Funny thing is, I was trying to do the same to him when he was still inside the hurricane. Orochi blood, so that's the power my people feared all these years.' _"That's enough, all of you can take your leave."

After some time yelling at the healers and blasting his two servants, he finally convinced all of them that he was alright and he just needs to get some fresh air.

"My people… I have already failed all of you once, do I really deserve the throne?" Herb muttered, looking at the hundreds of people inside the kingdom.

He was about to go back inside the castle when he spotted something at the corner of his eye. It was a person wearing a long cloak that conceals the face and the body but one the one thing that stood out was the white bangs swaying from under the hood. It could mean a lot of things, it could be just a stranger who got lost or it could very well mean that the person was related to him somehow. Plus there was this feeling that he should know that person so without any further delay, he flew up and tried to catch said person.

"You there! Wait!"

* * *

At a local bar in Southtown, Ranma gulped down another shot of wine. He never thought that he would get used to drinking, much less like it, especially when he couldn't even handle one sip of alcohol back then. He was here for a reason though, to sort out his feelings to the people around him.

First was Chris, his ever so annoying student. Now that he had the chance to spend a lot more time with the young teen, he really couldn't deny one certain fact… the fact that the boy truly is a dead-wringer for the old Saotome Ranma. The attitude was certainly there, the ability to learn techniques out of the blue was almost the same and he could never forget that their eyes were the same as well, full of loneliness and longing, the need for someone in their lives.

Terry Bogard, who'd have thought? The only person he has ever idolized. It all began when that panda lost him to a damn gambling bet here in Southtown a few years ago. Stupid panda, well, at least Terry was there to save him and he even agreed to train him in his style. But once again, the panda had to interfere and steal him back.

He can't wait to fight the legendary lone, 'old', wolf again. Their recent fight unfortunately ended up in a draw, it sort of reminded him of his fight with Yagami. Even though his team won, he feels as if their fight was far from over, especially if Terry was still treating him like a kid.

Iori Yagami… he doesn't understand him nor does he intend to. He really doesn't know if his behavior is caused by his Orochi blood or not. Okay, he says that he avoids confrontations as much as possible but why in the hell does he always provoke both him and that Kusanagi boy to a fight? It's no use trying to think about it. Maybe all the Yasakani clan members were just born that way.

Well, at least he got to meet Leona again in this tourney. Both of them went through the Riot of Blood, both of them are half-breeds but he has received the memories of their ancestors while Leona has not. Awakening, his mother has told him everything she knew about it. Everyone from their clan goes through it when they reach a certain requirement. The memories of the massacre are passed onto them so that they will not forget why their clan has become like this.

Speaking of clan members, there is Mature, is that really her name? In any case, the blonde certainly has made his life a little better, someone who truly looks out for him, someone who was always by his side. She's practically like family, but he can't help but be wary of her at times, she was keeping a lot of things from him even though she was well aware that he has already awakened. Perhaps she somehow knew that he was taking no sides as of yet.

Chizuru Kagura, a priestess and the current head of the Kagura clan. Is she a stiff? Not by what he recently saw. A mask, that's about it, everything he knew about her was all a mask. She was just a normal, lonely woman under that priestess façade. In a way, he was glad to have gotten the chance to talk to her back at the ship. It totally changed the way he feels about her, that's for sure.

Last but certainly not the least was Shermie, the redhead singer and pianist from CYS. The bubbly attitude was hauntingly similar to Shampoo's but at the same time, isn't. She's certainly an interesting person, and he admits that he does enjoy her company. Their dance together during their 'forced' date was breathtaking and the kiss was… was… er, let's move on, shall we?

Though their date was better than he expected, he can't help but notice that she has mixed feelings when talking to him, she was hesitant at times too, was there a problem that he doesn't know about?

_'I… I guess you can call them my friends… or something close to it. All I know is that my situation here is a little better than my life in Nerima, even when a damned eight-headed beast is looming on our heads.'_

Ranma stood up groggily and was about to leave when he suddenly found himself looking directly into another pair of blue orbs, eyes that are filled with pain, pain that is a little similar to his, the pain of losing a loved one. But that was the old him, he can never go back to what he once was. He broke his gaze and sighed dejectedly. "What is it old man?"

"You're fighting both Geese and Krauser next." Terry said evenly.

Ranma sobered instantly, he almost forgot about that. Those two have openly admitted that they were the ones that 'convinced' him to come here in this tournament. If someone back then asked him how he felt about being forced into this, he would've said something along the lines of 'I'll kill them' or 'they'll burn in hell'. But now, he doesn't hold that hatred anymore. In fact, he was a little grateful to them for bringing him here.

He was able to meet his first childhood friend and he was even able to help her out to move on with her life, even if her past was trying to catch up to her. He was able to meet Chris yet again, someone who understands his loneliness better than anyone he knew. He even found out more about Herb and his Musk Kingdom than he ever thought he would.

Shaking his head, he matched the lone wolf's serious look but deep inside, he was laughing his head off when an image of him bowing before those two unexpectedly came into mind. No, there was no way in hell that he was going to do that. "You don't have to worry about a thing. I know who I'm facing and I know what they're capable of."

"Not in an actual fight." Terry said bluntly. He was not convinced by Ranma's words, not by a long shot. "You'll know what I mean when you fight them. Just be careful squirt."

* * *

**AN: **Just thought I'd get into how the Ranma cast is doing. Oh, what's up with Nabs? Well… just wait and see. This is the end of the Hakkeshu arc and the voting is still open until next chapter, Ja ne!

**Next Resurrection Arc: Within the Darkness**

_'I can't lose… I can't lose… I can't lose… to protect my family and friends… I CAN'T LOSE!!!'_


	21. Resurrection Arc: Within the Darkness

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! [**WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!**] Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

**Votes (I did not count e-mail votes this time, and I only counted the votes from Chapter 15 to the 4th Interlude):**

Chizuru 14

Shermie 12

**AN:** The winner of the votes is Chizuru and like before it was very close. If you read the news update in my bio a few days back, I told you that I have finished two separate chapters (17a and 17b) for Chizzy and Shermie, and I will post the chapters of the one who won the voting, and it's none other than the Kagura priestess. Now then, onto her storyline, shall we?

**#** Gomen for those who wanted to see Shermie end up with Ranma, but I think I have something in mind so that you won't be disappointed (No, not a harem!), that is if I can finish Chizuru's story fast enough. I'll explain later, right now I'm going to work my butt off!

Chapter 17: **Resurrection Arc: Within the Darkness**

* * *

**Southtown**

"Kyo, I'm scared. Something's about to happen… and it's not because of your next match." Yuki involuntarily shivered as she said those words but soon relaxed when she felt Kyo's arms wrap themselves around her waist.

Kyo leaned in and whispered, "I felt it too but I'll be here for you, okay? So don't worry about a thing Yuki. Hmm, I know! You could visit Beni and Goro at the clinic if you still feel uneasy. I'm sure those two will cheer you up… heh, I'm pretty sure Beni will."

Yuki giggled. "Yes, I'm pretty sure he will."

_Hero Team and Yagami Team, please go to the arena…_

"Well, that's my cue. See you later, Yuki."

Yuki nodded as she watched the Kusanagi heir ran out the door. "Be careful Kyo… mrrmmphh!!!" she whispered right before a hand clamped onto her mouth. She turned around and her eyes widened when she looked into a pair of vicious, blood red eyes.

"Just be a good little girl and shut up, the real party's going to start soon and your boyfriend will not be on it, Yagami will make sure of that one for us."

* * *

_Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now time for the semi-finals matches! But the rules have changed yet again. The simultaneous team battles are over, and the tournament shall now return to its 'classic' one on one matches. Let the tournament begin!_

Both Iori and Kyo stepped up at the same time, neither one ever taking their eyes off of each other. Nearly all of the able fighters were watching this match, knowing fully well how Yagami manhandled Kusanagi during last year's tournament and the uncontrollable rage that came out of him when he was denied the victory over his rival once more.

"Hm hm hm hm, this is a surprise. Is the little Kusanagi heir all alone in this match? Did your teammates suddenly have gotten scared and left?" Iori mocked, amused. Vice was nowhere to be found as well but he doesn't care. In fact, it's much better this way, to have no nuisances getting in his way this time around. He will make the most out of this surprising turn of events.

Kyo stood casually, facing away from Iori. "They're out for the rest of the tournament… heh, like you'd care, that's not important right? What's important is that you and I have gotten another chance once more. Now…" He called out his crimson magatama flames as he said, "…Keri o tsukeyoze, Yagami."

Iori did the same, scoffed, and faced away from Kusanagi as he summoned his own magatama. "Kimisama no shi o motte na." (1)

_A one on one fight! Representing their teams: Kyo Kusanagi vs. Iori Yagami! There are no time limits, and the only way to win the fight is for either the opponent to admit defeat or to render him unconscious! Now then, start the match!_

* * *

Iori wasted no time, growling like an animal as he charged at Kyo with his flame-covered hand. Kyo wiped his mouth with his fist before going into a basic magatama-ryu defense stance. Iori clawed his way through the defense all the while wondering why Kusanagi was being so passive. He grabbed Kusanagi's leg and proceeded to throw him up, seconds before he leapt after him, clamped a hand on his head and drove it to the ground.

Kyo groaned a little but recovered fast enough to kick Yagami on the side of the head, knocking him down as well. He flipped back up and took a few steps back, hands flickering as he did so. He yelled as he threw a circular, flaming projectile underneath Yagami. It swirled under its opponent, much like Yagami's paralyzing attack, before it exploded, creating a pillar of flames that swallowed the redhead whole.

The crowd cheered like crazy until they heard an almost inhuman howl from within the flames. They gasped when a hand popped out of it and clamped onto Kyo's face. "I will not go down that easily Kusanagi!"

Iori stepped out of the flame, his clothes burning wildly, and kicked Kyo on the sternum as he released his hold. His purple flames slowly covered his entire body, canceling out Kusanagi's crimson flame in the process.

"Oh yeah? Well, how about this?!"

The redhead smiled when Kyo leapt back at him with a leg angled so it was aimed at his head. He casually walked a few paces and waited for the brash teen to strike. The hit never came as Iori help up a hand and grabbed Kyo's leg in a vice-like grip. He bowed his head, his hair covering his eyes, and chuckled slightly as he said, "I told you… you can't win against me in a real fight!"

Kyo was literally dragged around the arena by a maniacally smiling Iori. He yelled in pain every time Iori reaches a wall, for the redhead would tighten the hold on the leg as he slammed his body several times. This continued on until the Iori decided that it's time to finish him off.

"Hm hm hm hm hm, heh heh heh heh heh, H-gah…!" Iori almost lost his grip on Kyo's leg when he reflexively placed a hand on his mouth as blood unexpectedly began to come out of it. _'The hell?! My heart feels like its going to explode!'_

Kyo took this time to go inside Yagami's defenses and delivered three consecutive flame-covered punches, one on the face, one on the chin and the last one struck the redhead's gut. He continued the attack by grabbing Iori on the shirt, lifting him up with both hands, and then set him on fire. His eyes widened when Iori countered the move by grabbing his head and delivering multiple purple flame bursts to him, thus loosening his grip on the redhead's already burned shirt.

"Damn it!" Kyo cursed, removing his jacket, and leaving only his white shirt that has also seen better days. _'It's like I'm fighting a goddamn machine!'_

"Grr… hell with this!" Iori tore his burning upper clothing, wiped some blood off his mouth and charged at his nemesis with seemingly sharper fingers than before. "Die, Kusanagi!!!"

The Kusanagi heir blocked and parried the claw strikes and slashes. Once in awhile, he would get a couple of hits in after Iori missed. He finally had the opening he was waiting for when Iori lunged at him with both hands. He allowed himself to fall backwards, grabbed Iori by the arms and tossed him up. He flipped back up, snapped his fingers and awaited the descent of the redhead with his crimson flame.

"Burn in hell Yagami! Kurai Yagare!"

* * *

"It's over, I thought Yagami would put up more of a fight but, I guess this is as far as he goes." Mature said off-handedly. She doesn't care what happens in this bout, but she was enjoying the thrashing Kusanagi was giving to the person who almost killed her a year ago.

Ranma was leaning on a wall and playing with his ponytail as he spoke, "For someone who has extensive knowledge of Orochi and its clan, you sure are underestimating Yagami."

Mature glanced at him curiously. "What do you mean by that, Ranma?"

"Can't you feel it? His bloodlust for Kyo Kusanagi, his unquenchable thirst for vengeance, it is getting stronger as this bout continues. There is one other thing that you didn't sense, but I guess you must've blocked it out of your mind after experiencing it first hand…"

"What are you…?" The blonde paused when realization kicked in. She looked back at the fight to see Iori, even though badly burned, was now hunched over as Kusanagi watches in shock. "…The Riot of Blood, is he going into it again?"

Ranma smirked, although he felt a chill go up his spine. "Gee, wonder what gave you that idea?"

* * *

"Gwooaaaahhhhh!"

Kyo never had a chance, despite his efforts to avoid the slashes, they still hit him. Then, he found himself forced into a corner, with no way out. He tried to escape but the results weren't pretty. His eyes have gone blank when his body was tossed repeatedly from side to side from Riot of Blood Iori's inhuman slashes. The berserker growled and tore some more flesh out of his rival's mutilated body and at some instances he would bring his hands to his face, like an animal savoring the scent of flesh and blood.

_Someone stop this already! The fight is over! Someone please stop Yagami!_

The crowd was at a frenzy, they expected both Terry and Andy Bogard to interfere since they were the closest fighters to the two, but they never expected another redhead to jump into the arena and pushed Blood Riot Iori back with her hands. Vice seemed to be ready to fight her partner despite her fears but it was unnecessary. Blood Riot Iori's body swayed back and forth before dropping to the ground.

Ranma watches the bloody scene with a slight shudder while his partner, who was standing right behind him, had a small smile on her face. _'Two birds with one stone. Perfect, Kusanagi and Yagami are out of the way, now onto the hard part…'_

* * *

_Please calm down everyone! Please calm down! There is still one match to be held! Please control yourselves everyone! _

It has been an hour after that vicious assault by Iori and the crowd was still restless. Some of them even tried getting into the place where Iori was resting in hopes to kill the berserker. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which side you're on, security was tight and Vice was looking after the sleeping redhead. They were arrested before their plans could even come to fruition.

"Let me get this straight, he went 'riot' but at the same time, didn't?" Ranma asked curiously.

Mature looked at him with an amused expression. "Now look who's at a loss. His body did not change, remember? My guess is that it was only a brief surge, nothing more. Perhaps his desire to kill Kusanagi was too much."

"Perhaps…"

_Phew, thank you for your cooperation. The next match is between the Boss Team and the Hakkeshu Team! The first bout is between Wolfgang Krauser and Ranma Saotome!_

The armor-clad man stepped forward with arms crossed while Ranma glared daggers at both Geese and Krauser. Geese smiled and decided to have a little talk with the teen. "I take it you didn't like being brought here by force?"

"Not as much as I first thought. I had no qualms being brought here, I am even a little thankful to you two for doing so, but what I didn't like was you threatening to make the people that knew me suffer if I did not accept the invitation." He said, growling out the last part.

Geese's body shook when he started laughing maniacally. "I see, then you'll probably going to hate me more with what I'm about to say. You see, I did not live up to my word…"

"What did you say?!"

Geese held a hand up. "Hear me out. Yes, some of my men are still in Japan, monitoring those people from afar. I guarantee that they will eliminate your friends and family if you do not follow everything that I say from this point on."

Ranma was shaking uncontrollably. His hair was changing colors and the only reason he hasn't lost it yet was because he still had the desire to protect his loved ones. He did not want this bastard to harm his friends and family, especially his mother.

"But if I did that, Krauser will not be pleased at all. That's why I am giving you a chance, sort of an all-or-nothing kind of deal. If you win against the two of us, my men will back down and will never come near your loved ones ever again but if you lose to either one of us…" Geese's face turned darker and his smile became crueler. "…not only will you serve us, but their lives shall be forfeited! They will be executed the moment you lose."

"I'll KILL YOU!"

Ranma charged at Geese but he was flung back by a thrust kick from the emperor of darkness. The ponytailed teen quickly stood up but he immediately went back down. He noticed that his knees were shaking uncontrollably and his balance was a little unstable, his vision blurred for a moment as well. _'Wha…? What's happening to me?'_

"If you want Geese so badly, you have to go through me first." _'It seems your ploy worked, brother.'_

* * *

"Cut the satellite feed right now! We do not want the whole world to see this!" Chizuru shouted to Reiko and the rest of the staff. _'The brief change in hair color, those eyes, it's the one he has told me about. If his power is just like Goenitz' then this arena could very well be destroyed…'_

Reiko immediately nodded, even though she doesn't understand what got Chizuru so riled up. "H-Hai, Chizuru-sama!" she quickly replied. _'What do we do now when the Hakkeshu begins their move? There are roughly about twelve able fighters left and some of them are not on our side…'_

Off to one side of the arena, Terry's eyes narrowed upon hearing those words from Geese, mostly because that it was not like him to use an opponent's family and friends as threats, not in a fair fight anyway… unless…

Mature was frowning on the outside but she was actually grinning like a Cheshire cat on the inside. This could be the very break that the Hakketsu Shuu needed to begin their plan. If those two nincompoops continue to rile the Orochi half-breed up, he would either go into the Riot of Blood or if things go the way she wanted, Ranma would consciously start wrecking havoc inside this arena, just like what Goenitz did last year.

Either way, things are going their way from now on, and the best part is that Kagura can't do a damn thing about it.

* * *

**_Dies irae, dies illa, solvet saeclum in favilla, teste David cum Sybilla_**

"Leg Tomahawk!"

Ranma attempted to block the leg strike with both of his hands but once again, he was flung back by the surprising amount of force behind it, sending him down to the ground hard. He groaned a bit but had very little time to recover when he rolled to the side to barely avoid being squashed by Krauser's foot. He continued rolling until Krauser caught up, in which he had no choice but to catch another oncoming foot stomp. He caught it but it soon broke through his hold and connected to his face, burying his head inside the small crater that formed from the attack.

Krauser frowned; this isn't what he was expecting from the boy. He expected some sort of challenge, and he wanted to witness the power that the boy wielded during his previous fight with Terry Bogard. But now it seems that little trick of Geese to bring out the boy's full power seemed to have backfired. At this rate, the boy would be destroyed before he even breaks a sweat. "Hmph… no challenge at all…?"

Ranma grabbed Krauser's feet with his hands, wrapped his legs around Krauser's leg and began to twist it with the full intent of breaking it in two, but before he could do so, Krauser punched him in the gut twice to force him to remove the hold and leave him squirming in pain. _'So much power…'_

**_Quantus tremor est futurus, quando judex est venturus, cuncta stricte discussurus_**

_'How? How can he be a lot more powerful than me?' _Ranma thought as he struggled to get to his feet. He can blow up a building to pieces… that much he knows. Both his riot and awakened form can literally destroy an entire mountain, yet this guy was able to bring him down without even trying. What is going on? "Damn…"

Geese smiled. "Having trouble fighting my half-brother? It is to be expected. Or did you really delude yourself that you can win against us by just throwing unfocused energy here and there?"

"W-What?"

"What he means is…" Krauser continued. "…you are powerful, but you can't even harness your own energy properly. You throw projectiles so recklessly that I'm almost inclined to think that you don't know the very basics in gathering it. From what I observed with your battle with Bogard, that ki blast you threw was based on your emotions… a pathetic attack in my book."

Geese nodded, his grin was getting wider. "I don't think that Terry Bogard took that fight seriously. You should feel lucky to even be here because I truly believe that he took it easy on you boy."

Gritting his teeth, Ranma stood up and glared at the smirking Geese, before turning back to a slightly bored Krauser. His eyes turned purple as he took up a stance and said, "Come on… I'll show you what I'm made of."

**_Quantus tremor est futurus, Dies illa, Dies illa_**

Krauser's eyes widened when Ranma disappeared. He leapt back in surprise when Ranma reappeared right in front of him. _'Masking his presence? Hmph, it's not good enough Saotome.' _He thought, preparing to kick the ponytailed boy but he was astounded yet again with another incredible burst of speed.

"Dokuja Tanketsu Sho!" Ranma aimed for the heart but the Strolheim heir blocked it with his right arm. He snarled and pushed through, shattering Krauser's gauntlet to pieces, and sending his opponent skidding back from the blow. "Don't ever underestimate me! I never lose, not when the lives of my family and friends are on the line!"

"Interesting…" Krauser chuckled, gazing at Ranma with fiery eyes. "…very interesting indeed. Perhaps you don't need any energy attacks to be effective. Let's continue, shall we? You could become a worthy opponent after all."

The two fighters blurred and met in the middle, arms clashing and all. The two kept exchanging blows, neither one of them was letting up. Whatever one of them dished out, the other would return it with interest. Ranma managed to punch his opponent's other gauntlet and was successful in shattering it but Krauser countered by grabbing him on the shoulder and delivering a thunderous headbutt, instantly drawing blood.

Ranma drove his knee to Krauser's stomach and jumped back, ignoring the blood trickling down his face as he quickly cupped his hands. Krauser smiled, pulled back his hand and gathered his own energy.

"Blitz Ball!"

"Mouko Takabisha!" Ranma yelled, but he froze when his attack was nullified and Krauser's seemed to have gained more power as it speeds toward him. He cursed, concentrated once more and held both of his hands forward this time. "Mouko Takabisha… Double!!!"

**_Quantus tremor est futurus, quando judex est venturus, cuncta stricte discussurus_**

The first confidence-based projectile was also absorbed by Krauser's blitz ball but the other one got through and was now headed for the mildly surprised Krauser. He smiled and charged right into the golden wave of energy. He took the brunt of the attack but he was hardly affected at all. Krauser chuckled to himself but stopped when he saw a serious Ranma, who has the blitz ball between his hands.

"Is this what you're bragging about?! Fine! Let's see how you take it!" Ranma threw the projectile back with the same amount of force that his opponent did when it was first called out.

Krauser merely laughed and casually kicked the projectile to the roof of the arena, blowing it up, and causing the crowd to panic. His laughter was put to a halt when he received a forceful blow to the chest, sending him flying back, way back, outside of the arena to be exact.

"Mouko Kaimon Ha!"

Ranma went down to his hands and knees, and wiped some sweat under his chin with his fist. His moment of rest was short-lived when he saw Krauser walking back to the arena with an even bigger smile than before. _'I guess… it's time to finish this…'_

Both Krauser and Ranma arch their arms back, gathering whatever power they have left and prepared themselves for the final blow. For Krauser, a bluish energy formed around his hands as he cupped them in front of him while instead of his confidence-based ki blast, twin sets of flames appeared out of Ranma's before he did the same.

"Kaiser Wave!!!"

"Honoo!"

**_Cuncta stricte discussurus_**

* * *

The resulting collision of energies resulted in a huge explosion, blinding everyone with it. When the light and the dust settled, there lay the two fighters, struggling to get to their feet just a few paces outside of the now heavily destroyed arena. The crowd was surprisingly still into it, cheering on the two combatants to finish their fight though Ranma has other things going on in his mind…

_'I have to win this match, I have to!' _He thought through clenched teeth, finally getting up due to sheer will power. He growled like an animal when he saw that Krauser was still struggling to get to his feet. His eyes flashed as he sprinted forward, crouched with his hands clasped together, pulled back and hit Krauser with a two-handed uppercut.

Geese watched with a slight frown when his half-brother was sent crashing to a nearby wall. His frown deepened when there was no movement amongst the rubble for quite awhile. He shook his head and chuckled, "Heh, looks like I'm up next."

_Krauser is down and out! Ranma Saotome wins! Now onto the next bout, Geese Howard vs. Ranma Saotome! You may start whenever you two are ready!_

Ranma could barely even stand as he watched Geese step up with that confident look. '_I can't lose… I can't lose… I can't lose… to protect my family and friends… I CAN'T LOSE!!!__' _He thought with determined eyes, concentrating his energy onto his hands once more. "Mouko Takabisha!!!"

"Hmph, Reppuken!"

Just like his brother's projectile, Geese's Reppuken conveniently went right through Ranma's ki blast, forcing the ponytailed boy to jump in the air to avoid the oncoming projectile. Geese tilted his head up and just chuckled when Ranma dove for him with a hand aimed for his head. "Childish…" he muttered, catching the half-breed's outstretched hand and twisted it, flipping Ranma up and causing him to fall face first to the floor.

Ranma was still wincing in pain as he lay on the floor before he screamed when Geese stomped on his shoulder as he pulled at one of his arms. But Geese could only maintain this hold for so long when Ranma engulfed himself in purple flames, making the blonde jump back in surprise.

"Impudent kid."

"Why? Why do you want this accursed blood? What do you think you can achieve by having this inside your human body? What is it that you want?" Ranma asked as his flaming form slowly stood up.

Geese turned his back at the ponytailed teen and chuckled. "You take your power for granted, that's why you wouldn't understand. We humans on the other hand, have to work hard to get to the same level of power, like myself. I am an ambitious man, boy. I will do everything in my power to rule the world and I do believe that the Orochi blood is the missing piece of the puzzle. Hmph, I think you get the picture, that's why I need you to unlock the secret."

"You foolish bastard, no one outside of the bloodline can fully control Orochi's power! Those humans who strive to do so shall meet their early demise! The Yasakani clan is a clear example of this! Do you really think that you can enjoy having this power? You'll just become yet another mindless killer who has given up on his humanity! But I guess someone who uses his opponent's family and friends as leverage, you could care less about becoming a demon!"

Ranma was already too enraged when he recklessly charged at Geese to even notice the dark-blue glow forming around his opponent's hands. _'I'll kill you Geese!'_

"Raging Storm!"

* * *

Ranma was catapulted, spraying blood along the way, to the far side of the arena, where he was promptly buried under huge piles of rocks and debris. His eyes have gone blank, and he wasn't showing any kind of movement at all. The crowd was death silent; some were leaning closer to get a good look at the downed ponytailed boy. The fighter's themselves were at a loss for words. 'Did he kill him?' was the thought going through their minds.

Terry and Geese stared at each other, from the scowl on Terry's face to the smirk in Geese's, you could easily tell what the other was thinking.

_R-Ranma Saotome is down and maybe seriously hurt, the winner of the bout is… huh? Kami-sama!_

Geese broke his gaze and turned around to see the Orochi half-breed's outstretched hand, moving rapidly even when the rest of his body was still crushed under the debris. He frowned, walked closer and could've sworn that he heard some kind of loud heartbeat coming from the boy.

The crowd gasped when Ranma amazingly began to stand up. Chizuru and Mature's eyes widened for completely different reasons when the ponytailed boy's hair became a mixed color of black and violet and his body turned a couple of shades paler. For Chizuru it's because this is truly what Ranma warned her about, and from the looks of things, it seems that his power has increased yet again. For Mature, it seems that her prayers were answered, and the resurrection of their god can finally begin.

_'Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill… no choice, I have no choice, I have to protect all of them… come to me, my dark flame…'_

* * *

Ranma stood up amidst the rubble, bloodied body and all, and the purple flames that were scattered all over the arena surprisingly began to go into his body. He looked up, gazed at Geese with cold, purple eyes and spoke in an eerily calm voice, "Do you really think that I'll serve you? Geese Howard, I am the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu of the sacred flame, one of the four Heavenly Kings of Orochi. I will not bow down to the likes of you. You humans on the other hand… shall bow to me!"

Geese took a step back from Ranma's sudden change in attitude. But that wasn't the reason and he knew it. Bloodlust, he has an insurmountable amount of bloodlust, far beyond the level of any human. Is this what the boy was talking about earlier? Is this the cost of having Orochi blood inside you? Abandoning your human side as you embraced the other?

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're chickening out. You wanted this, didn't you? You forced me to go back to my awakened form. Now… you have to be ready for the consequences!"

A sickening crack was heard when Ranma vanished from his place and punched Geese on the face as he suddenly reappeared right in front of him. He licked his hand and with a sick smile he said, "Let's enjoy ourselves some more, shall we?" _'Kill, I have to kill them all.'_

Ranma never allowed his opponent to even have a chance to defend himself, and each time he delivered an attack, in the form of a simple punch or a kick, a loud crack can be heard coming from Geese's body. His power right now was obviously far beyond what he showed to the residents of Nerima. How that happened, nobody knows, except maybe Ranma himself. "Hmm, I guess you're right, a concentrated attack does wonders for the body… your body!"

He dropped Geese's bloody form, stomped on his head and summoned the sacred flames. "This is true power, Geese… and this is as close as you can get to it. Die and meet your maker!"

* * *

The crowd was rushing towards the exits, in fear of being burned alive by the sacred flames. Some of the fighters decided to stay and watch, you'll never know, the ponytailed boy could very well be just like Goenitz. They're ready to fight if Ranma attempts to harm one spectator.

A smile slowly appeared on Mature's face as she realized what was happening. The awakening! Has he finally chosen as to which side he'll join? She could only hope that his choice was the same as hers. She jumped slightly when someone grabbed her on the shoulder. She turned and looked right into a smirking Vice. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"One of the Heavenly Kings has fully awakened, which means that it won't be long until the seals on the other two wears off and I have a feeling that one of the other two has already awakened as well. But there is one problem that we need to discuss right away, Mature."

Mature smiled and shook her head. "Not right now. We'll do it when we arrive back to Japan, when all of those with Orochi blood are gathered inside the temple."

"Agreed."

Off to the other side, Chizuru's eyes narrowed upon seeing the two smiling female Hakketsu Shuu. "Ranma's on a rampage and all they do is smile and watch from the sidelines? It's certainly different from their horrified reactions when Iori lost it last tournament." __

"The Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi… isn't that what Goenitz said?" Reiko asked in a shaky voice. "Chizuru-sama, what shall we do?"

"We just watch. Despite appearances, Ranma is still in control of himself and his target isn't us or the crowd, it's his two opponents, and I think that he will not let anybody get in his way. In a way, I think that both Geese and Krauser brought this upon themselves."

* * *

"What?!"

Billy Kane, along with a couple of Geese's men (2), jumped into the arena and forcefully shoved Ranma aside. "We can't let you do that to our boss, Orochi scum."

Ranma chuckled darkly, getting up and grinning at the group of men in front of him. "Is that so? Then I'll ask you this question…" he trailed off as he seemingly disappeared yet again. It was not the Umisenken, that's for sure. It's just that his speed has been increased to the point that, even to some of the fighters, it will look like he's teleporting. An ability Chizuru already witnessed during her battle against Goenitz.

"…Who's going to stop me?" The Hakkeshu whispered, appearing beside Geese's subordinate. "It's certainly not those guys." He pointed towards the unconscious forms around Billy but Geese was surprisingly nowhere in sight. "Perhaps you could do it. That is if you're not chickening out like your boss."

Billy's weapon suddenly broke into several parts and he began to spin them around himself. Billy paused and turned around, only to see a grinning Ranma. _'Can't be… I hit him several times in a row! How?'_

"Bye-bye Billy!"

Flames spurted from the ground and wrapped itself around Billy's body. Ranma snapped his fingers and the flames started to burn Billy alive. It was unknown at this point if he even survived the initial attack much less the flames that continue to burn his skin. Ranma frowned as he noticed some movement to the side. "And where do you think you're going, Krauser?"

Krauser smiled slightly, clutching his shoulder. "Nowhere, I only want to finish where we left off. I finally have a worthy opponent to fight and I will certainly not let it pass me by."

"Omoshiroi (3), despite your current condition, you're still willing to fight? I'm impressed Krauser, a warrior through and through, eh?" Ranma said with a bit of respect despite the fact that he hates the guy's guts. "Very well human, for such valor, your death shall be swift!"

The fight or lack thereof, ended with just one blow. Krauser charged forward, only to receive a fatal blow to the chest in the form of a small, concentrated, flaming projectile that struck his heart and went out his back. He fell to the ground, frantically gasping for air.

Ranma gazed at his flame as if it's the most beautiful thing in the world. "Humans… ambitious, cruel and resilient, Geese is a perfect example of this. You on the other hand, allow your lust for battle to overwhelm you. No, that's not right. You're actually looking for someone to end your life, that's why you continue to fight. Well? Am I right?"

Silence was all he got as Krauser was already having a hard time just trying to breathe.

"Hm hm hm, if that's your response then I guess… I can finish you off now." He knelt beside Krauser and clamped a hand around his throat. "Can't say I'm sorry, you two did threaten to kill my mother. Don't worry human, I did promise that your death shall be quick. Farewell, oh mighty lord of darkness…"

Ranma grabbed the throat tighter as he pulled his arm up. Krauser's body shook for a couple of seconds more before it finally stopped moving. Ranma stood up, frowning. He bowed his head slightly; just enough so that his bangs covered his eyes, and gazed at his bloodied hand. _'Was there no other way? Was there no other way than to kill…?'_

* * *

(1) – Let's settle this, Yagami; Yeah, with your death!

(2) – This is Southtown, so of course Geese's men are around.

(3) – Interesting

**AN: **Yeah, Krauser kicked the bucket. That was also his music in '96, Dies Irae. Sorry if Iori and Kyo's fight didn't live up to expectations, but it is necessary for the story to advance. In any case, the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu shall finally make their move next chapter. A lot of familiar scenes from the game are coming up, with a few important changes along the way. Oh, and two opposing sides shall battle it out, and neither one of them is from the Orochi clan!

I hope I can update tomorrow as well, ja ne!

**Next Our purpose is to serve our god!**

_Where does he go from here? What will he do? What path shall a troubled soul take?_

_'It was useless to believe that I can have a normal life… a human life… I guess there really is no such thing for me, no such thing at all…'_


	22. Our purpose is to serve our god!

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! [**WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!**] Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

**AN:** Mwahahahaha! I'm updating like crazy! I will finish this one as soon as possible and after that, I'll finish my other works too! Mwahahahahahahah! [**WHAM!**] Ugh… kawaiikune…

Chapter 18: **Our purpose is to serve our god!**

* * *

Leona got out of her room with a small smile. Ralf and Clark were still a bit dumbfounded by her behavior as of late. Who wouldn't? The cold, distant and emotionless member of the Ikari mercenaries was slowly being replaced by a cheerful, smiling, yet slightly shy part of her.

Heidern accepted the change in stride. He really didn't like the emotionless part of his adopted daughter and he feels that he is to blame for her turning out like that. He trained her to be one of them, willing to kill if need be, and willing to fight to their last breath. All in all, he liked the cheerful side of her daughter and he does not want it to change.

Ranchan was happy for her as well but that's something she hates at the moment. She was starting to move on but her best friend was not. He helped her get past the trauma of the Blood Riot yet he doesn't seem to be able to do the same thing for himself. A few days ago, he just killed a man, Wolfgang Krauser, and now that the tournament was finally returning to Japan, and he's more of a wreck than ever.

"He's closing up again, don't block us out Ranchan.  We're trying to help you…"

"No, I'm afraid I can't allow that. A pity you still remain with your human friends… I guess I'll have to take care of you right now, we wouldn't want you to try and bring Ranma back to his 'human' side, now do we?"

Leona spun around but she couldn't anything as she found herself blinded by a bright light. Then she received a hard blow to the head, causing her to fall to the floor as she slowly loses consciousness. Last thing she saw was a familiar blonde woman looking down on her with a wide smile.

"After all, we need him in his current state for the resurrection to take place."

* * *

Shermie was still lying on the floor inside her room, with tears falling down her face. She frantically looked around the room in search for something, anything to make the pain go away. Lightning arcs were currently surrounding her body, causing her an extreme amount of pain every time she moves. That's why she was staying still on the floor, hoping that somebody can at least hear her cries for help. "Somebody… help me… please… help me…"

Ranma? No… she can't ask him for help, nor does she expect him to come to her aid. She doesn't even know if he cares for her just as much as she cares for him. She saw him hugging that priestess on the ship, which was before their forced date. She tried to gather enough courage to ask him about it, but she never could.

Funny, she never thought she would ever be captivated by one man. She thought that Yashiro had done it, but she soon realized that it was something else that drew her to him that fateful day at the music shop. Something she couldn't quite explain at the moment.

Ranma, however, was different from Yashiro. The feeling, the sense of déjà vu was there but she can't deny that her feelings for him were real. Yes, she loves him but Chris may have been right, perhaps it was already too late. Ironic, the first person to make her feel complete is the same person that will probably break her heart, and he isn't even aware of it.

But that's the least of her concerns at the moment. Why is this happening to her? She was just a normal girl! Okay, granted she may have been having a few freaky dreams as of late but everything else about her, from her friends to her love life is perfectly normal. So why does this sort of thing happen to her?

"So here you are!"

Shermie ignored the pain as she turned her head towards the door. Yashiro was standing there with a huge grin on his face. She would've breathed a sigh of relief if she hadn't noticed the differences in her teammate's appearance, that and the fact that he was carrying a bruised and battered Chris on his shoulder. The look on his face was reminiscent of the time when he lost it against the Art of Fighting Team.

"Y… you're not… Y-Yashiro…" she began.

Orochi Yashiro laughed. "Yeah babe, I'm not that loser… not anymore…"

"W-What do… you… mean…?"

"Let's just say that I have been reborn into something far more powerful that those pitiful humans." He gazed at the electric arcs around the redhead's body. "And it seems that you're the next one on the list." Orochi Yashiro said with a gleeful chuckle before he forcefully grabbed the redhead off the floor.

Shermie screamed in pain as those lightning arcs coursed through her body once more. A few fighters heard her so they rushed to her room but all they found was a few scorch marks on the floor.

* * *

Iori scoffed at his partner, who was currently relaxing on his bed while drinking a glass of wine. Bad enough he couldn't remember the outcome of his fight with Kusanagi, now he has to put up with this? "Your room is right over there, so I'm asking you nicely to get your Hakkeshu ass outta my bed."

"Good thing you brought it up, I have something important to say to you because you've been out since your match in Southtown, Yagami. The remaining Orochi Hakketsu Shuu has been found, and it will not be long until the vessel is chosen…" Vice trailed off.

"So? I told you last year that I don't care if your pathetic god lives or not. I only want Kusanagi! I want to kill him! But I have been denied that satisfaction once more!"

Vice took another sip of the wine before she got up and grinned knowingly at Iori. "I know what you mean. It was such a let down the way that fight was concluded." She poured another glass for herself as she walked towards the slightly irritated Yasakani clan member. "Unfortunately, you may never have another chance like that again… but right now, I'd like to do something for you…"

She took yet another sip of newly poured glass of wine but this time, she did not swallow it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the Orochi warrior full on the lips. Then she had a mischievous look as she began to force her tongue into his mouth, pushing onto him the wine she just sipped which he, in turn, instinctively swallowed.

Then all of it went straight to hell…

"Ah… wh-what… I… can't… breathe…" Iori sputtered out as he pushed the Hakkeshu back.

Vice chuckled slightly and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Gomen ne… but I thought I'd give you something special to remember me by, and what better way to do that than to give you a kiss that I'm sure you'll never, ever forget."

Iori gasped for air once more as he fell to his knees. He looked up and glared at his smirking partner. "If… I'm going… down… I'll take… you… with… me!" He yelled as he tried calling out his flame but it proved to be a useless effort, not even a damn flicker was showing itself.

"Oh, my dear Yagami, have you forgotten that you've just regained consciousness? So it really is not that hard to see that you're still exhausted after two consecutive, grueling matches. Now then, I'm going to ask you one more time… join us, and I promise that you will be spared from Orochi-sama's wrath."

Iori's body fell limp on the floor but his eyes still had the same intensity in them. Vice kneeled beside him when she noticed that he was trying to say something but it was still too faint for her to hear. She leaned in closer but didn't like what she heard. Really, somebody should tell Iori that it's a not a very good idea to piss off someone that can easily rip your head off.

"Up… yours…"

Vice shrieked in rage, she quickly grabbed the paralyzed Orochi warrior by the neck and couldn't help but smile maniacally at him. "You should consider yourself lucky, Yasakani. We still need your power so rest assured that you won't die until your purpose is over." She leaned closer and whispered a few surprising words to him. "You and I are so much alike, hated by our parents, for something we had absolutely no control of…"

Then she slammed his head a couple of times more until she finally knocked him out.

* * *

Ranma stared at a wall inside his room with hollow eyes. He has killed yet again, he was forced to transform into that conscious berserker, just like what he did back at Nerima. Did he really have no other choice other than to embrace this side of him? Was there no other way to stop those two in harming his friends and family? Was there really no other way than to kill a man in order to protect a few?

He looked at his trembling hands and in his mind, he could still see Krauser's blood on them. It has been a few days after the fight and he knew that no matter how many times he washes them, it was still useless, the blood was a part of him now, a part of his ever growing sin.

_'It was useless to believe that I can have a normal life… a human life… I guess there really is no such thing for me… no such thing at all…'_

"What is wrong with you?"

Ranma looked to his side and saw a frowning Chizuru and a slightly hesitant Reiko standing by the door. "If you're here to kill the Orochi threat, that's fine by me. I give you my word that I will not fight back, just get it over with. It is your duty as a Yata priestess after all, to destroy everything connected to Orochi."

Reiko decided to stay outside while Chizuru flinched as she walked closer to the ponytailed boy. "I know I told you this before. As much as I hate Orochi, I have learned to not judge other people based on what clan they're from. And what happened back there in Southtown was clearly not your fault…"

"NOT MY FAULT?! I just KILLED a man, with me having complete control over my body! How is it not my fault, Kagura priestess?!"

Chizuru remained unfazed though. "What other choice did you have? They would've carried on with their threat had you lost the match. I knew it, you knew it, and the rest of the fighters knew it. No one is blaming you for what happened, you did what you had to do in order to protect your family and friends."

"It still doesn't justify the fact that I killed yet again! I wasn't taught that way… Terry didn't teach me that, and neither did that good for nothing father of mine." Ranma curled up on his bed, with his knees covering the lower half of his face. "To protect the weak, that was supposed to be my one and only duty, to protect the weak, and nothing more…"

The Kagura priestess hesitantly placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I… I don't know what you are going through right now but I do know that it wasn't the real you that fought those two back there. Your reflection from my mirror is proof enough for me."

Those words did not appease Ranma one bit. He curled up tighter and bowed his face. "If you're not here to kill me then… then just leave me alone, please…"

Chizuru gently removed her hand and gave him a sad look before heading towards the door, where Reiko was watching their conversation with tearful eyes. Ranma looked up and gazed at the open door for a few minutes before bowing his head again. "I'm not human, I'm not human. What should I do? Mom, where do I go?"

"Aw, cut the crap will ya? Your whining and moaning makes me wanna puke!"

A thin wire wrapped itself around Ranma's neck just as he looked up to see who said that. Then he found himself being hoisted up in the air as Yamazaki yanked at the wire from outside the door. Ranma fell to the ground seconds later.

* * *

"Eheheheh, sorry for the intrusion Orochi boy, but I gotta do what I gotta do." Yamazaki chuckled, pulling at the thin wire with enough force to send Ranma sliding across the floor. "Stay still and die, I have an appointment with a couple of million bucks!"

Ranma struggled to breathe, he was slowly being choked out by the psychopath and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. It feels as if that his power, more specifically his flame, seemed to have abandoned him. It was either fatigue or some kind of seal he wasn't aware of. He was about to try and force his way out of it but he paused when he saw a familiar blonde standing beside the grinning psychopath. "Mature…"

"I heard your little talk with the priestess. It's really too bad, you still haven't accepted your true self even after your full awakening during our match with Geese Howard and Wolfgang Krauser. You leave us with no other choice but to try and use you in another way, a way in which you will never question us. A mindless servant who's only function is to kill…" Mature said albeit hesitantly.

Yamazaki scowled a bit. "Sheesh, and here I thought that I'd get to kill someone tonight."

Mature frowned. "We had an agreement, Yamazaki. Especially since your former 'boss' Geese Howard seemed to have gone into hiding like the coward that he is. Don't worry though, I promise that you'll get to do a lot of that tomorrow, where everything shall finally end."

"Not if I can help it!"

Ranma spun and kicked Yamazaki on the throat, forcing him to remove his grip on the wire. He placed his hands on the floor as he did a spinning top which knocked both Yamazaki and Mature down. Then he made a mad dash for the door but he received a very powerful backhand from outside.

"What are you two doing? This is no time to play around! Kagura must've already sensed the two of you by now! Get this over with!" Orochi Yashiro yelled as he stepped into the room.

Mature dusted herself off. "We know that, but I did tell you that we should not to take him lightly if he really is the one we are looking for. I hate to say this but Vice and I should've just saved Goenitz and then let him live for a few more days until he coughed up the whereabouts of the vessel."

"You think? Because of your rather poor handling of certain events, we don't know which one is which." Orochi Yashiro muttered angrily, alternating glances at the unconscious Chris and the downed ponytailed boy. Mature's face darkened but she kept silent.

Ranma tried to get up but Yamazaki stomped on his back as the psychopath wrapped yet another one of those thin wires around his neck. He looked up and froze when he saw Yashiro carrying a bruised and bloodied Chris and a badly burned Shermie. He struggled to get the psychopath off his back but Yamazaki quickly stopped him with a knife stab to his lower back.

"I told you to stay still!"

"Let… them… go! They have nothing to do with this!"

Orochi Yashiro and Mature laughed at that. "On the contrary, they have everything to do with this! Surely you must've known about the so-called seal by now, haven't you? The one in which the Orochi power shall be sealed by one measly stone so that the traitors can live off as normal humans."

Ranma's eyes widened in realization but it also strengthened his resolve to try and get the two out of harm's way. He screamed as he once again tried to call out his flame. Fortunately, he was successful this time around; Yamazaki's burning form was proof enough. "Let them go!"

He quickly got up but all he saw was a bright light that completely blocked his vision. It was followed by a powerful earthquake that sent him reeling and he was finally neutralized when Orochi Yashiro grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him several times on the floor. The light vanished to reveal Mature leaning closer to him as he slowly loses consciousness. He gave her a cold glare as he muttered one last word, "Why…?"

* * *

**Next day, Japan**

The tournament ship has arrived back to Japan for the final match for the King of Fighters Tournament which will be held later in the afternoon. But Mature, Vice, Yashiro and Yamazaki were currently standing before a forest clearing high above a mountain, just a few miles from the place where the final match will take place.

Mature stepped up, took a short glance back at the rest of the group, and then gestured for the rest to follow her inside a cave, a cave in which Ranma has visited already. It's the place where it all started, Goenitz' hideaway, but in reality, it's the pathway to Orochi's temple of worship.

"Let's go, we have to complete this today."

After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the door with the weird markings. Orochi Yashiro placed a hand on it, causing it to open up. The group was now inside the temple where a bruised, battered and bloodied Ranma, Iori, and Leona were currently chained to a couple of large stone pillars.

Orochi Yashiro chuckled at the sight. "Well, well, well, the three persons who are tainted with that pathetic human blood. I'm gonna enjoy making these traitors scream!"

"Eheheh, let me join in on the fun too!" Yamazaki added in.

Vice laughed with them but Mature just shook her head and walked towards the next room, where a certain redhead was screaming for all its worth. The room was currently filled with countless electric arcs, Mature watched as Shermie continues to writhe in pain, there was almost some pang of regret in the blonde's eyes but it disappeared as quickly as it showed.

"It's no use trying to fight it, accept who you really are! Abandon all that is human in you and awaken as the child of our god, Shermie of the Violent Lightning!" Mature said with a slightly forced smile.

Shermie gritted her teeth, what could she do? What can she do? Yashiro allowed her to take one look at Ranma, chained to a wall as blood flowed down his body. Why?! Why is this happening to them?! Kami-sama, what did they ever do to deserve this? _'We're just normal people, we're just normal people… so why? R-Ran… ma… help me…'_

Mature frowned when the redhead stopped screaming. "Hmph, passed out… no matter, you will soon realize that it is useless to defy our god."

"Mature, the altar has been set and Kushinada is already in place."

"Yes, now onto the final step, this time, Orochi shall fully awaken and the humans shall finally be destroyed!"

* * *

Ash crouched on a tree branch as he watched the four Orochi Hakketsu Shuu enter the temple of worship. "Ho-hum, took them long enough to get back here. Hmm, the appearance of two vessels does bother me, especially the older one, Saotome Ranma. This really isn't what was foretold… huh? Eheh, definitely not the one foretold."

His eyes narrowed upon noticing another figure watching the group. He blinked twice before chuckling when he got a good look at the figure. "I never thought that they'd move this fast. I guess they want the resurrection to take place as well but it will not go the way they had planned it… I'll make sure of it."

He smiled as he leapt down, dashed towards the figure's location, got behind said figure and then tapped its shoulder. "Quite a busy day ahead of us, huh?"

"Who are you?!" The figure shouted in surprise, the voice was obviously female.

The woman was wearing a cloak but Ash caught a glimpse of the clothing she had under it. "Heh, typical… I thought you guys would have developed some sort of fashion sense by now. Have you no shame? A dead animal for a scarf? A bra and a miniskirt in this time of day?" he asked in an amused tone.

"I see, so you're the one that he was talking about, the thorn in our side." She snarled, pulling out a few strings from her cloak and sending them towards Ash's smirking form.

Ash laughed as he evaded the attack with ease. He summoned his green flame and the smirk he had seemed to widen even more. _'Looks like the party will have to start a little early.'_ "Let's see what you've got, woman from the distant land."

This wasn't even a fight. Ash just evaded the strings the entire time.

"Sigh, I'm disappointed. From someone who came from a powerful race, you sure don't know how to fight." He demonstrated by dashing in and punching the woman in the stomach. "See? A normal fighter would have seen that one coming, so now I'm wondering why did they send you here, to scout the situation, perhaps?"

The woman stood up and raised her open hand in the air. Ash heard some noise near the bushes before he blinked when he saw several people step out carrying a few deadly weapons. He turned his gaze back to the woman only to find out that she has disappeared.

"Human puppets, quite fitting for a female puppet master."

Ash quickly disposed of the 'puppets', as he calls them. He dusted his hands, looked up to the dark sky and smiled knowingly. "Heh, its showtime."

* * *

**AN: **Just a short chapter, it only shows the gathering of the five remaining Orochi Hakketsu Shuu (Guidel and Goenitz are gone, remember? And Ranma is the third one) along with the abduction of the people with tainted blood. I'll take a rest for now… tired… fingers hurt… zzzzZZZ

**Next Losing Oneself**

_"I… am… so… tired… so tired… of everything…"_


	23. Losing Oneself

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! [WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!] Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 19: **Losing Oneself**

* * *

**Orochi ****Temple**** of Worship**

"I kinda like seeing you in this miserable state."

If looks could kill, Vice would've died a hundred times over from Iori's murderous glare but instead, she merely shrugged it off and continued to slap the bounded man silly. "You should've taken my offer. It would've spared you the pain that awaits you once Orochi-sama has been resurrected."

"And what? Become one of you? A lapdog? Heh, come to think of it, it's really quite fitting in your case… a good for nothing bitch!"

That remark earned him yet another hard slap. "I don't know to whether to like you or hate you. That attitude is what drew me to you a year ago but that same attitude makes me want to rip your head off and mount in on a wall. Oh, Iori, what shall I ever do with you?"

Iori scoffed. "Well, you can release me and let me beat the crap outta you. It'd surely bring one heck of a smile to my face and knowing you, you'll probably enjoy it too."

"Hahaha… I should say the same to you. After all, your father did a pretty good job turning his little boy into a spiteful and vengeful young man…" Vice hopped back when Iori literally tried to take a bite out of her neck. "…oohh, feisty, aren't we? I told you before, you and I are so much alike, especially when you go into a murderous rampage."

"Bah, yeah right! Just the thought of the Riot of Blood scares the crap out of you! I really don't see you, hell… I don't see anyone in their right mind liking me in that damn state!"

Vice surprisingly just stared at him for a few moments. "You do have a point, Yagami…" she paused as she pulled out a small knife from her clothes. "But I'm not in my right mind, at least, not at this time."

She swiftly slashed at her arm and watched with a smile as blood started to flow out of the wound. She looked back at Iori and flung her wounded arm forward, splattering Iori's face, more specifically the eyes, with her blood. "See the blood that you have spilled, see the countless lives that you have taken, see all of your deeds as Orochi's servant!"

* * *

"Guidel's daughter…? Hmph, you're just a good for nothing half-breed!" Mature bellowed. It was quite easy breaking through this girl's mental barriers, mostly because deep in her heart, she still has this small belief that she's still the one to blame for her tribe's massacre. The blonde guessed that Ranma was the reason as to why that belief of hers has dwindled in such a short time.

"You can't fool me. You were enjoying it, right? When your fingers tore through the flesh of your family and friends, I bet that you were savoring every second of it. Oh, those large amounts of blood all over your little body… that must've made you crave for more, right? After all, you did hunt down the ones that escaped and then tore them limb from limb!"

Leona fought back tears as she frantically shook her head. "No! I didn't do those things! I didn't do those things! R-Ranchan…"

Mature smirked. "Ranma? Oh, right. Your childhood buddy? Well, if you must know, he's the one that told me about your past… you can add to that Goenitz' entry on his journal describing how a mere child could wield the power to wipe out a tribe of the Orochi clan."

"No, I didn't have control over myself… I wasn't aware…"

The blonde rolled her eyes and slapped her forehead. "And thus begins the same old cliché, the denial by the 'oh so innocent girl' and the persuasion by the 'mean ol' bad guy. The fact of the matter is that you still killed them! You killed your friends, you killed your tribesmen, and you killed your parents! You killed your mother and your father, nothing you say can ever change that! Everything was all your fault!"

"Nooooo!"

* * *

"Wake up, Chris. We still have a lot of things to do."

The brown-haired teen groaned as he started to come to. He shook his head a bit before a hard slap snapped his eyes wide-open. He turned to his attacker and it was none other than Yashiro, at least, he still hoped that it was Yashiro. Last thing he remembered was getting out of the clinic after being patched up and then… nothing. "Yashiro, where am I? Huh? Chains? The heck…? Get me out of here!"

"As you wish…"

Chris was couldn't help but blink when Yashiro casually walked up to him and, well, simply unchained him. "Hey, what's the matter with you anyway? Why are you acting so creepy? And where the hell are we now?!"

Orochi Yashiro shrugged as he leaned on a wall. "I recently found out that I'm not human." He paused, looking at his hand with a small frown. "It scared me at first, but then I came to realize how wonderful it feels to have this much power flowing inside your body. I also realized how much these humans deserve to die. These insects… these plagues need to be destroyed before they take the entire world with them."

"What are you babbling about? You look human to me Yashiro. Hey, stop this nonsense and let's go home, okay?"

The Hakkeshu of Earth chuckled slightly. "Even after everything that I did, you still find it in your heart to trust me. I'm sorry Chris but I already made my choice. And now it's your turn to be awakened, it's your turn to make a choice."

"Awakened? Wha…?! Ahhh!!!"

_Child…_

Yashiro watched with a slight look of concern when Chris suddenly clutched his head, hunched over as he aimlessly walked around the room. "My head…! Get out! Get out of my head!"

_Remember, child… remember who you are… remember what clan you are from!_

Chris screamed as purple flames slowly started to come out of his hands and began to encircle his entire body. After a little while, his pained face was soon replaced with that of anger and hatred, right before his clothes burst into flames. It continued for a while until the flames seeped back into his body as he limply fell to the ground.

_Serve me to the fullest! Child of the sacred tribe!_

* * *

**KOF Tournament Ship**

"Reiko, did you find anything?"

"No, I'm afraid not, my lady."

"I see… please order an immediate search for the missing fighters. I want them found right away."

"Yes, my lady."

Chizuru was inside Ranma's room with a worried look on her face. It was obvious that there has been some kind of struggle but she knew that the ponytailed boy would not go down that easily, but she also knew that the stress on his mind and body may be at its limit. She bit her lip when she recalled something a while back, something that made her change her opinion of him even more.

She was also at a loss for words that night. She could clearly hear the pain in his voice as he spoke those words. Pain that seems to be eating him alive but it also made her wonder, did he somehow knew what was going to happen to him? No, that's not it, his demeanor… it's that of a man who was clinging on a small thread of hope.

Never before has she seen someone like him, especially from the Orochi clan, someone who still has the innocence in him but was unfortunately burdened by a cursed fate. Shaking her head, she stepped outside and tiredly leaned on a wall. _'I was too careless, I assumed that they won't make their move until at least after the tournament. Now, I can't sense any of them anymore, were the Hakkeshu really the ones that took him? If so, then where? Where did they go?'_

* * *

"He still hasn't regained consciousness yet?" Daimon asked.

"No, I'm not surprised though, considering the seriousness of his wounds." Benimaru replied with a sigh. He leaned back on his chair and placed his hands behind his head. "I guess the only thing we can do now is wait for him to recover. The tournament is practically over anyway."

"I guess you're right…" Daimon sighed out. "…by the way, have you seen Yuki? I thought she'd be by Kyo's side the moment he was injured but I haven't seen her anywhere. I wonder what that girl is doing."

Benimaru got up and shook his head. "I dunno, maybe she went back to Osaka to get Kyo's parents. Since Kagura pretty much cut off the satellite feed, they haven't received any news about Kyo's current condition. They probably are worried sick back there."

"Probably… but… we should've been there…"

The blonde let off a frustrated sigh. "Oh man, don't start that again. What's done is done. We chose to sit out the fight due to the injuries we suffered fighting Kagura's illusions, that's it, plain and simple. Besides, what could we possible do against Yagami? Remember how he thrashed us last year just so he could get his hands on Kyo? Well, I have a feeling that we could've suffered a whole lot more had we interfered in this year's match."

Daimon tiredly leaned on the door. "I know that, Yagami can become too powerful for us at times. I'm even starting to believe that he may someday be unstoppable if he continues whatever it is that he's doing. The way his power grows is simply astounding!"

"You may be right. I guess when that time comes… our abilities will be pretty much useless."

* * *

"How is Joe Higashi anyway? Is there any progress on his condition?"

Terry shook his head. "No, there isn't. He suffered a broken neck, he's really lucky to be alive after that attack by Mature. But the good news is that the doctors back in Southtown say that Joe will make a full recovery if he does what he's told for about a year or two."

Blue Mary sighed audibly as she continued to walk alongside the lone wolf. "Geese Howard couldn't have his way after all. He's lucky to have even survived his encounter with Ranma."

"Yeah, I didn't like how the match turned out though, Geese using underhanded tactics, thus forcing Ranma to kill in front of thousands of people…" Terry said with a frown.

"You really care for him, huh?"

Terry laughed a little. "It's like having another little brother, though he'd prefer to call me old man but I guess that's understandable, his real father wasn't really one you could look up to."

Mary raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on, he can't be that bad, can he?"

"I saw him wager his own son on a damn card game in Southtown a few years back." He said bluntly, almost making Blue Mary lose her balance. "If that isn't a sign of a bad father then I don't know what is."

"I see… but if it was me that saw him, I'd probably break every bone in his body just so that he'll never do anything like that to anyone ever again. Wagering his own child?! I, I, really can't imagine someone doing that but from the tone you used, you left absolutely no room for jokes."

Terry sighed yet again before he suddenly punched a hole in the wall, startling the short-haired blonde. "What happened to him? Why is he so damn negative all the time? So what if he has Orochi blood? It doesn't change anything! He's still the confident and prideful little kid that I raised for almost a year!"

"Terry…"

* * *

Mai was a little bit nervous as she waited for a certain long-haired blonde to come up to her room. Andy came up to her one day, finally apologized about his remark about her not being able to handle the fighters in this tournament, and asked if she could talk to him in private. She, of course, was ecstatic that is until she finally noticed the seriousness in his voice. In her mind, it could only mean two things. The first one was fairly obvious; it was what she wanted all this time but the other one was… better not think about it right now.

"Mai? It's me, open up."

The kunoichi gasped as she fumbled her way to the door. "Ouch, I-I-I'll be right there Andy! Ow, what the heck is a cat doing here anyway?"

Andy almost had the urge to sweatdrop when he heard a number of things breaking inside the kunoichi's room. "Is she redecorating or demolishing the place?"

"Ah, um, hi! Er, welcome Andy!"

"Is… everything alright in there? It sounds like there was a wrecking crew in there a minute ago." Andy joked with a small smile.

Mai pouted a little before clinging onto one of the blonde's arms. "Oh, never mind that. Come on… let's go inside, it's getting cold out here."

The two took a seat, facing each other but they went silent for quite a long time. Mai was very nervous about this meeting, mainly because Andy never really took time to 'talk' with her, especially inside her room. Oh, there were times that they would have a decent conversation but Andy almost always makes up some kind of lame excuse when they start talking about their relationship.

"Um… Andy?" Mai began. "W-What did you want to talk about?"

Andy sighed, gently held the kunoichi's hand and looked at her with a sincere smile. "About us…"

Mai felt like she was going to faint. Fortunately, she was already seated as she leaned back on her chair. This was the first time Andy talked to her like this, well, the first time that doesn't involve fighting powerful people. Usually, the blonde would jump in and save her from someone, like a prince saving a damsel in distress. Frankly, she hated that one, because once she was out of danger, Andy would wimp out and would try to get away from her as fast as he can.

"Y-Yes…? What about us?"

"I-I, uh, how can I say this… um, argh, I'm not good at this sort of thing… you see, the thing is… um, er…"

The kunoichi twitched a little. _'Here he goes again…'_ "Spit it out already, Andy Bogard! Are you a man or not?!"

Andy frustratingly slammed his hands on the table before he turned it over. He walked up to Mai, held her hand once more, and kneeled in front of her.

Needless to say, the entire floor was introduced to a certain kunoichi's deafening shout of joy.

* * *

**Temple**** of ****Worship******

Yamazaki was currently standing next to an unconscious Yuki as he talked to someone through his cell. "Eh? I get it. Yeah, yeah, I understand already. What? Like hell! I'm not under your employ, remember? I'm only doing this because it's big business and I know you'll pay big money for the information I have obtained right here. Eheheh, speaking of which, how did those bone-crushing punches feel? Right, right, never mind. Hmm, looks like sleeping beauty is waking up, yeah, I'll contact you as soon as I get outta here."

"Uhn… where… where am I…?"

"Gee, I'd like to say 'hell' but I guess this is as close as you can get to it at the moment."

Yuki let off a startled gasp when she found herself face to face with a grinning Yamazaki. She tried to sit up but her arms and legs were tightly chained to the altar, pretty much making sure that she cannot escape. She also noticed that they were in an open area, probably on the top floor of some old ruins or something. "Where am I?! What is this place?! Where have you taken me?"

"Whoa! Take it easy there little girl! First off, Yashiro was the one that kidnapped you because if it was me that took you, you would've been slashed all over. That's just the way I am. Well, in response to your question, you are in some old ruin. Heh, I don't even care what the place is called so sorry, can't tell you that one."

Yuki trembled as she fought back tears. "W-What are you going to do to me?"

Yamazaki shrugged, his grin never leaving his face. "Who knows? I'm just being paid to do as they say which is to kill those that try to stop their ritual or something along those lines. It's my kind of job anyway so I don't mind."

"No… K-Kyo… help me…"

The psychopath couldn't help but laugh at that. "Eh? I wouldn't count on that punk to come and rescue you. Yagami did a pretty good job tearing him limb from limb! Eheheheh!"

* * *

"You know, it's really useless to fight it."

Shermie looked up and stared at Vice with tear-filled eyes. The pain was starting to be too much for her body to take and the only reason she hasn't succumb to whatever was calling to her was because of a certain someone whom she believe was still fighting it. "Ranma… help me…"

Vice smirked, not a good sign. "That kid? Ah, now I get it. He's the reason as to why you're still resisting Orochi-sama's will, isn't he? I hate to break it to you but he has already given up, along with that brown-haired kid."

"No…"

"Unfortunately for you, it's all true. I'll tell you anyway even if you don't understand a word I'm saying… both Ranma and Chris have awakened. You see, they know now that they're not human and they realize that they have more power than any of those insects could ever hope to achieve."

Shermie shook her head. "I don't understand! What are you telling me? They're not humans? I don't believe it! Ranma, Chris and I are just normal people!"

Vice sighed. "Persistent little girl. You continue to deny it but deep down, you know that I'm telling the truth. Ranma's not human, and so are you! It's a cold, hard fact! Besides, what the hell do I have to gain by lying to you?"

The twin ponytailed woman choked back a sob. It was all true. No matter how much she denies it, it was all true. Her foster mother told her something along those lines, saying that it was her real mother's last words. She thought that it was some kind of joke but now…

"Why fight it? Like it or not, you are one of us Shermie. Don't you want to be with him? Don't you want to be by his side? What else are you waiting for then? Just give in and everything will become clear for you, I promise."

_'Ranma…' _Her final thought as a human. With her decision made, electric arcs began to go into her body. Together with him, that's all she cares about. She only wants to be with him, be it in heaven or hell…

* * *

_'People want me for different reasons, but… the bottom line is that they all simply want to use me. Almost everyone wanted something from me…'_

"What's the matter? You haven't said a thing ever since we brought you here."

Mature was starting to get irritated by the silent treatment she's receiving from the ponytailed teen. You can add to that the fact that his violet eyes were devoid of life, it was like talking to a corpse really. All there is to him was that eerie blank stare as he muttered the same gibberish every now and then.

"Well, has he talked to you yet?" Orochi Yashiro asked as he casually walked into the room.

Mature sadly shook her head.

"Let me take over, will you?" He grinned, knelt in front of the chained Orochi half-breed, and cupped his face. "I never knew you that well, but you've made such an impact on Shermie and Chris that I'm actually a bit jealous. Heh, but I'm afraid that they have already chosen to accept their fate rather than fight it."

Orochi Yashiro tilted Ranma's head to the side and the half-breed's eyes widened just a little before he went back to his blank stare. Orochi Chris, who was the one standing on that side, frowned when he saw this but kept his mouth shut. Orochi Yashiro removed his hand and stepped away from the half-breed.

"What happened to your enthusiasm? Where did your desire to save them go?" Mature said albeit a little shakily. Getting no response whatsoever, she knelt down, leaned in, and whispered something to his ear. "Please Ranma, just join us. You can talk to him in this temple right? I know your tribe can still communicate with him so please try and speak to him…"

"I… am… so… tired… so tired… of everything…"

_Then accept who you are, my child, accept who you are and be with your true family…_

Ranma's face was suddenly contorted in pain. A few moments later, he bowed his head and closed his eyes as his struggles slowly came to an end. _'So… tired…'_

* * *

**AN: **Just another chapter about the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu and some of the fighters. We're nearing the final stretch of the Orochi saga. Only four more chapters to go, er, make that three, because I can probably finish the next one today as well. Ja!

**Next The Riot of Blood**

_"God, what the hell is he?!"_


	24. The Riot of Blood

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! [WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!] Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 20: **The Riot of Blood**

* * *

The King of Fighters Tournament has finally returned to Japan and the crowd was ready for the finals match between the Hakkeshu Team and the Yagami team but there was just one problem: Neither team has shown up yet.

"Reiko, how many fighters do we have at the moment?"

The dark-haired teen opened the folder she was carrying and quickly read them aloud. "Um, not much my lady, first we have Benimaru and Daimon, who are currently staying inside the hospital room Master Kusanagi is in. Next are the Ikari warriors, Commander Heidern already informed me that they're ready when the Hakketsu Shuu makes their move, then comes the Bogard brothers, Blue Mary and Mai Shiranui. The last one is you my lady."

Chizuru frowned. "Hmm, I see… and what of the missing fighters?"

Reiko sighed and shook her head. "Geese most likely stayed in Southtown due to his injuries along with a badly burned Billy Kane, oh and your other partner King and the Art of Fighting Team must've stayed there as well. As I recall, Yamazaki probably stayed behind to talk to Geese, I talked to Blue Mary about it and she confirmed that he was working for Mr. Howard. CYS was also reported missing but I think that they left the tournament upon arriving here, they have no more business in this tournament since they lost anyway."

"I wasn't talking about them Reiko."

"Oh… there are still no signs of Mr. Ranma and his partner Mature as well as their opponents, Master Yasakani and his partner Vice. Plus there have been reports of an unidentified man and woman walking around the tournament ship a little earlier but it could've been just a couple of fans. Speaking of which, what shall we do my lady? The crowd is getting restless, I don't know if security or my powers can hold them off for long…"

_'Are they starting the ritual already? Am I too late to stop it?' _"It can't be helped, announce that the tournament is over since no team showed up for the finals match."

Reiko looked at the priestess in surprise. "My lady! If we do that then the crowd will surely go into a frenzy!"

Chizuru sighed and rubbed her temples. "I don't care about that anymore! We have other things to worry about like the resurrection of a bloodthirsty god. I fear that we might already too late if those four really are gone, that's why we should be out there looking for them this very minute!"

"I… I understand my lady. I will make the announcement this instant."

"Yes, please… and gather the remaining fighters for me, Reiko."

* * *

"Sir! Please, let us go look for her!"

"I agree, for all we know, something terrible might've happened to her!"

Ralf and Clark both slammed their hands on Heidern's table. They've just recently noticed the disappearance of their female member and both men were starting to get worried. It was just like she vanished into thin air, like the Hakkeshu and the Yagami Team. Those Kagura clan members said that they'll look into it, but they really haven't done a good job in searching for them and besides, it's not like the Ikari mercenaries to just stand around and do nothing.

That's the reason why they're at Heidern's office right now, hoping that their Commander would issue a search for their missing comrade. At least, that's what they hope…

"No."

"But sir…!"

Ralf was held back by Clark, who was shaking his head, indicating to just forget it. Their Commander doesn't want to move out so they have no choice but to comply, though it took Ralf several minutes to calm down and realize what Clark was getting at. If the two of them were this worried about her, imagine what Commander Heidern must've felt when he first heard that his daughter was missing. __

* * *

Terry was leaning on a wall with a frown as the crowd waits for the start of the finals match. _'He really has that much potential but sadly, it might all go to waste. He's already too deep into depression; he just hides it very well. I hope he doesn't commit suicide, I know how adamant he is about not killing people. Damn, where are you, squirt?'_

"Bro, any luck?" Andy asked, walking alongside Mai and Blue Mary.

"Nope. What about you?"

Blue Mary shook her head. "No signs of him anywhere. I don't know about this, they could be long gone for all we know. Let's just call the tournament off and go home, there's nothing more to do here."

Mai nodded with her. "I agree with Mary. So they chose not to show up and fight, what's the big deal? At least this long tourney is over. And the best part is that nothing happened this year except for Yagami's little skirmish with Kusanagi and that incident with Krauser. Let's go home already because…" she grabbed Andy's arm tightly and looked at the younger Bogard with hearts in her eyes. "…someone still has to live up to their promise…"

Terry closed his eyes and smiled slightly while Mary was having a really hard time controlling her laughter at Andy's twitching face. Their fun was interrupted however when all four fighters sensed a familiar presence that seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

"Bro, do you feel that?"

"God, I hope not… but damn, it feels as if it's Goenitz all over again…"

"Well, we can't just stand here and do nothing! Let's go!"

* * *

"Hey what's keeping you guys? Let's go on with the tournament!"

"Yeah! We paid a lot of money to see them fight!"

Reiko sweated as she stepped into the middle of an arena full of frantic people armed with only a mic. "If I can have your undivided attention…" She paused for a bit. "…thank you. As you all know, the match that is going to be held today is the finals match between the Hakkeshu Team and the Yagami Team. Oh dear, um, unfortunately, none of the fighters from either team has shown up so we are now forced with this very tough decision…"

Surprisingly, the crowd was still silent, even when some of them already have guessed what the decision regarding the match was going to be.

"Ahem, since both teams seem to refuse to participate in the match, they leave us with no other choice but to disqualify both parties and promptly end the King of Fighters tournament starting this moment."

Again, the crowd remained silent. Reiko was slowly making her way out of the arena but before she could do so, the crowd snapped out of their shock and finally exploded. But the dark-haired teen noticed that this commotion was different from what she expected, mostly because the crowd was frantically shouting and screaming as they ran towards the exits, not towards her.

"Reiko, stay back."

Reiko spun and faced a serious looking Kagura priestess, along with Heidern, Ralf and Clark. She also noticed Terry and the rest of the fighters were running towards them. "My lady, what is going…?"

Blood-curling screams echoed throughout the arena, moments before blood started spraying all over the terrified crowd, causing them to panic even more. "Kami-sama… what is that?"

"Yagami…" Terry, Andy, Mai and Blue Mary muttered, eyeing the Orochi warrior to their right.

"Leona…" The Ikari mercenaries whispered when they got a good look at the other berserker to their left.

* * *

Both Orochi berserkers made their own way down the arena, and that was through countless number of people. They kept tearing through them, like machines designed to cut through just about anything that stands in their way. By the time they arrived on the center platform, their bodies were covered by huge amounts of blood.

"Riot of Blood, so the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu released these two berserkers here but for what? To buy time? Or is it to get rid of the rest of the fighters?"

Heidern scowled as he took a step forward, towards the female berserker. "Kagura, you've already explained the details regarding this one so I have only one thing left to ask. Can my daughter still return to her normal self?"

Chizuru shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't know the answer to that."

"I see…"

Heidern didn't waste time as well as Ralf and Clark. The three warriors immediately tackled Leona, sending the four of them skidding back before Leona managed to overpower them. The rest of the fighters were about to jump in and help the three but Iori dashed in and blocked their path.

"We have no choice. We have to stop them as soon as possible."

That's all Terry and Andy needed to hear. They quickly lunged for Riot of Blood Iori followed closely by the now airborne Mai and Blue Mary while Chizuru decided to stay back with Reiko, there was just something wrong with this scenario, and she has absolutely no idea what it is.

Back to the Ikari mercenaries, Clark screamed when Leona yanked at one of his arms, crouched down and then drove an elbow to his outstretched arm, instantly breaking it. She then kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying back to one of the walls. Ralf managed to punch her in the face but he could've sworn that Leona just chuckled at his attack, seconds before the berserker buried her claws to his face, lifted him up, and slammed him back down.

"Grrrowwwrrr!!!"

Leona looked up to the sky and was about to spew some blood out when a hand clamped onto her face. Heidern lifted her up but he hesitated, giving Leona enough time to break free and slash her father on the upper part of his left arm. Heidern hopped back as he clutched his bleeding arm but Ralf continued the attack by grabbing Leona by the waist, and tackling her to a concrete wall.

"Dammit, snap out of it soldier!"

Ralf jumped back and punched Leona's stomach repeatedly, causing an inhuman roar from the woman. Ralf finished it with a powerful punch to the jaw but to his surprise, Leona simply spat out some blood, stared at him with those soulless eyes and that inhuman smile. "Leona… you…"

"Jones, step back, now!"

Heidern watched as Ralf promptly rolled to the side. That was all Heidern needed as he raised his hands, crossed them, and brought them back down, sending a powerful, cross-shaped vacuum blade towards Leona, who was still embedded to the wall. Suffice to say, blood started gushing out of her daughter's body but despite that vicious attack, Leona still managed to get herself out of the wall and was now limply walking towards her father.

Clark got up as well and was about to take the berserker down but a glare from Heidern quickly stopped him from doing so. The same glare caused Ralf to back down, even though it was very much against his will. Heidern stepped forward and Leona did the same, causing the two remaining Ikari warriors to wonder why Leona hasn't attacked yet.

"Grr…"

-----

_"Leona, what are you doing with that gun?! Let go of it this instant!"_

_A twelve year old Leona quickly placed the gun on the table. "B-But, I saw you stopping bad guys with it so I thought… I thought I can stop them with it too…"_

_Heidern sighed and sat beside her. "I should've expected this. Yes, I do take down bad guys, but I only use this gun as a last resort because it's not good to take a life, even when they probably deserve it."_

_"Take a life…?" Leona whispered, wobbling a bit. "My head hurts…"_

_"Sigh, you should get some sleep. We'll talk about this later, okay?"_

_Leona nodded slightly. "Uhn… but when I grow up, I want to beat up bad guys with you."_

-----

"Leona, please wake up…"

The Orochi half-breed growled, reached in and tried to slash Heidern again. It would've worked too if not for her injuries, which have made all her attacks useless at this point. It wasn't long until Leona fell to her knees as she continued to claw at Heidern.

"Sir… is she…?"

"Let her be, from her wounds, I'd say that she has lost a large amount of blood. She's probably starting to lose consciousness as we speak… let's just hope that she returns to us after this ordeal."

* * *

Iori was a different story though…

"God, what the hell is he?!" A wounded Blue Mary yelled in frustration.

"Our attacks aren't even affecting him!" Mai exclaimed.

Riot of Blood Iori howled, grabbed Andy's leg and threw him towards his brother, which promptly sent the two of them crashing down, with Terry pinned underneath his little brother. The redhead leapt after them and managed to slash Andy on his side, making him scream out loud. Iori's attack continued, slashing the younger Bogard over and over again until Terry finally got up and punched the berserker on the face.

Terry punched him once more, this time, on the stomach, followed by a left hook and then a jab uppercut. He was about to perform his power wave but Iori quickly clung onto him, burying his fingers onto the blonde's shoulders and swiftly sending small, consecutive, flame bursts towards him.

Fortunately, Andy jumped in and kicked Iori in the chest, forcing the berserker to remove the hold but not before tearing out a good portion of Terry's skin. The Bogard brothers quickly lunged at Iori, Terry performed his Crack Shoot while Andy continued the attack with his Kuu Ha Dan, burying Yagami even deeper into the ground. Despite those devastating attacks, Iori just growled and yanked at Terry and Andy's legs, tripping them up.

The berserker flipped back up, roared and then leapt for the downed duo but his path was surprisingly blocked by a very large, circular energy blast which, in turn, electrified the redhead's body.

"Rai Kou Ken!"

Iori howled as he jumped back, only to find himself being lifted into the air when a set of arms wrapped themselves tightly around his body, forcing another howl out of him. Daimon yelled as he tightened his grip even more, and with his arms pretty much useless, Iori could do nothing but frantically kick his legs, roar out loud and cough up blood.

It only lasted several minutes because the Orochi berserker inadvertently snapped his head up, causing it to bump into Daimon's face, thus making the powerhouse to reflexively release the hold as he clutched his now bloody face. That proved to be the least of his troubles when Iori turned around and promptly drove a hand to his stomach. Blood gushed out of his body as he took a few steps back before finally falling to the ground.

Iori didn't waste any time as he quickly homed in on the nearest target, which was none other than Benimaru. The blonde didn't even see him move, he only blinked for a second or two before finding himself being slammed repeatedly into a concrete wall. He would've breathed a sigh of relief if he could, when Iori growled and instinctively rolled to the ground as he was suddenly engulfed in crimson flames.

"Hey ugly!"

* * *

"Kyo…!" Benimaru muttered with wide eyes before scowling. "Idiot! What the hell are you doing out of the hospital?! You can barely move! What can you do against this monster?!"

The Kusanagi heir ignored the blonde as he slowly dragged himself towards the Orochi berserker. "Hey, it's… it's me you want, right? Well here I am!" he yelled as he gestured to the redhead to come closer. "That's it, come on… our fight isn't over yet."

"K… Ky… Kyooo…"

"Oh good, you can still talk. Let's finish it right now, Yagami…"

Kyo crossed his arms in front of his face to block Yagami's oncoming charge, but the force behind it was so great that it sent him flying back. Iori, of course, ran after him and surprisingly caught up with him in that short time. The redhead grabbed Kyo's leg, ran even faster than before, and proceeded to throw him straight to a wall.

The Kusanagi heir unexpectedly flipped in midair, planted his feet on the wall for a brief moment, and jumped back at Iori with flame-covered hands. His fists connected to the berserker's face but he was far from over. He used his momentum to his advantage, repeatedly punching Iori as he pushed him back. He flipped once again and performed a series of well-placed punches and kicks and he finally topped it off with a flame-covered uppercut.

Iori's descent created a small crater on the ground but like before, he slowly got up, growled and charged at the heavily panting Kusanagi heir yet again. This time however, Terry decided to interfere as he blasted Iori with his Buster Wolf, making the berserker eat dirt once more.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? This is my fight!" An irate Kusanagi bellowed.

Terry glared back at him. "You're not helping at all Kusanagi. Right now, you're only making him stronger as you continue to fight him! You can settle old scores later! We have to take him down now!"

* * *

"Terry's right, we have to knock him out right away!" Blue Mary yelled as she sprinted forward, grabbed Iori's arm, pulled at it and tossed him back down. Mai followed by jumping high in the air and hurling a number of flaming fans to Iori's prone form, forcing another inhuman roar from him.

"It's our turn bro!"

"Right behind you!"

Terry and Andy both jumped as well. Terry had an arm covered with energy as he descended towards Yagami while Andy had both feet stretched out and was aimed at Iori's chest. The berserker called out his purple flames and immediately encased himself in it; perhaps it was his survival instinct. The clash of energies resulted in a massive explosion, hurling the fighters back and pretty much leveling the entire area.

When the dust finally settled, the fighters slowly got up one at a time. Chizuru was the first one of course, followed by Reiko. Heidern, who was carrying an unconscious Leona, was next to recover as well as Ralf and Clark. Terry and Andy were next, followed closely by Benimaru, who was currently supporting Kyo as they made their way towards the still out cold Daimon. Unfortunately, Blue Mary and Mai Shiranui could not get away in time to avoid the large debris that has pinned their legs.

"Ouch… how careless of me, Mary no baka…"

"Andy…! Help me!"

Terry, Andy, Ralf and Clark quickly went to their side and removed that heavy debris off of them. Both women suffered broken legs and it will surely take some time for them to make a full recovery. Terry and Andy gently carried the two and was about to head to the nearest hospital when they noticed some movement to their side.

"He really is a monster…" Ralf whispered.

Benimaru and Kyo took up their fighting stances. "I guess he leaves us with no other choice but to kill him. It's obvious that he's not gonna stop until he kills all of us."

Chizuru surprisingly stepped up and stopped them. "That's not necessary you two. Look at him, he can barely walk, much less fight in that state. He's already at his limit."

True, Iori has blood flowing out of his body at an alarming rate. His wounds were so abundant that it was really surprising to see him alive especially when he was right in the middle of the explosion. He snarled and limply walked towards them but the strain proved to be too much as he fell face-first onto the floor.

"Reiko, please tend to the wounded."

"Right away, my lady."

The dark-haired teen quickly went to work, making a support for Clark's broken arm, along with Mai and Blue Mary's legs. Then she patched up the rest of the fighters starting with the heavily bleeding and still out cold Daimon. To the surprise of the fighters, Reiko went to Iori's side and began to tend to his wounds as well.

"Kagura, I think we deserve an explanation on what's going on." Andy demanded.

Chizuru sighed as she tended to Leona's injuries. "I know, and I'm sorry for getting all of you involved in this. I have already informed Heidern and the rest of the Ikari mercenaries about this so I think you should know this too. Do you remember Goenitz and Rugal the past two years?"

"Yeah… Rugal died using some kind of power, right? And Goenitz was the maniac claiming to be some kind of messenger of death or something."

Chizuru nodded. "Yes, they have one thing in common… they both have Orochi blood in their veins. But Goenitz was a pure blood while Rugal was just a normal human who was given a small amount of Orochi's power by none other than Goenitz."

Kyo stepped in. "That's why he destroyed himself, right? When Rugal chose to use all of his power against me, it proved to be too much for him to handle and he ended up killing himself."

"Yes. I won't go into details about Orochi because we don't have much time. I will say that both Leona and Yagami also have the same blood in their veins but they also have human blood as well. That's why they turned into these mindless killing machines, a state which is called the Orochi Riot of Blood."

"Riot of Blood?"

Chizuru stroked Leona's hair as she spoke, "It's a phase that those who are tainted with human blood go through. I don't know the details behind it but my guess is the mixture of these two kinds of blood causes that reaction. Anyway, Terry, what did you mean that Yagami was getting stronger the more Kusanagi continues to fight him? Did you notice something perhaps?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too." Kyo said with a scowl.

Terry ignored Kyo as he focused on Yagami's downed form. "Yes, I felt the same thing when Andy and I were fighting Yamazaki a few weeks back. The more the fight continues, the more he gathers energy. I don't know how or why that is but I'm telling you, Iori was doing the same thing a little while ago."

_'Gathering energy…? Oh no, it can't be… is that…? No, we've been played…' _Chizuru thought with wide eyes.

"So is that why he was so damn strong even after the beating he received?" Andy asked.

"Correct!" a loud voice echoed around the arena.

The able fighters instinctively went in front of the injured ones as they frantically looked around the heavily damaged arena. That only took a few seconds before lightning started pouring down the place, but surprisingly, no one was struck by that brief barrage. Chizuru stood up, looked at the top of the place, and glared at it. This caused a chilling laughter out of whoever was doing this.

"The Orochi Blood Riot…"

The ground began to tremble, causing a few fighters to lose their balance. Chizuru chanted a few words before sending a small ward towards the place she was glaring at.

"An interesting performance… for a sideshow!"

Chizuru's eyes widened when six figures, more specifically the three people whom she thought were human, decided to show themselves. Mature, Yamazaki, Shermie, Yashiro, Chris, and Vice looked down at the group with amused expressions. "You…? You three are of Orochi blood?"

Orochi Yashiro, Orochi Shermie and Orochi Chris could only grin at that.

* * *

**AN: **Gomen! No Ranma in this chapter. The next chapter is the serious one; let's just say that history will not repeat itself this time around. Oh, I'm going to update my other fics after I'm finished with this. Ja!

**Next The Heavenly Kings of Orochi: The Hakkeshu of the Sacred Flame**

_"Destiny is a fearful thing…"_


	25. The Heavenly Kings of Orochi

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! [WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!] Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 21: **The Heavenly Kings of Orochi: The Hakkeshu of the Sacred Flame**

* * *

"You…? You three are of Orochi blood?"

Orochi Yashiro hopped down, crossed his arms, and smirked arrogantly at the fighters while the rest of the Hakketsu Shuu followed suit. "Surprised? It is to be expected."

Kyo cracked his knuckles before calling out his crimson flames. "You six, should've known. What are you scheming this time, Orochi scum?"

"Us? Scheming? Heh, you've done it all for us!"

"What?"

Mature chuckled as she stepped forward. She scowled when her eyes homed in on Chizuru though. "Kagura, I think you already have an idea on what we're talking about."

"What does she mean, Kagura?"

"The Orochi awakening… I get it now. They planned this all along, the tournament, the brutal matches they had, everything. I should've seen this a long time ago, eight Hakkeshu, the eight people who have been assigned to gather energy for Orochi in the past. I was foolish for not having realized it sooner." Chizuru cursed, clenching her fists tightly.

Orochi Yashiro laughed. "For those who do not understand, our bodies are perfect conduits to harness the large amount of energy required for the resurrection. It has been that way ever since the beginning, but I guess someone overlooked it. Every time we Hakkeshu fight, we absorb our opponent's energies and every time it happens, our powers grow stronger and it will continue until we simply go into the awakening process."

"Where our powers are made known and not only that, we also inherit the memories of our ancestors…" Mature continued. "…we finally get to see the true face of humanity. Better yet, the energy we gathered is enough for the resurrection as well if it is combined with all eight Hakketsu Shuu but sadly, Guidel and Goenitz are gone so…"

Vice continued for the blonde. "What better way to gather the energy than to battle the best fighters in the world. That's our reason for joining the King of Fighters, and you guys fell for it, hook, line and sinker."

Kyo snarled. "Damn, I feel like a jackass…"

"Oh, you only noticed that now? You're more of an idiot than I thought." Orochi Chris mocked.

Orochi Yashiro stomped hard on the ground. "True… now to avenge the 1800 year old insult. You humans, of course, can't realize why the Orochi clan and Orochi himself were cast into the darkness."

"My ancestors' powers, that's why!"

"Ah, yes, the ever-so powerful Yata mirror. The artifact that has the power to contain Orochi but you can only do so with the help of Kusanagi and Yasakani. Heh, now you seek the aid of these fighters? You were using them as much as we are! Anyway, do you really know how? 1800 years before, our ancestors tried to destroy the human plague but the newly resurrected Orochi was still too weak so the clan needed to gather energy for our god."

Chizuru gritted her teeth. "You needed people with strong, dormant ki to be sacrificed for Orochi."

Orochi Yashiro placed a hand on his head as he laughed. "I knew it! Ranma has been talking to you! Otherwise, you wouldn't have known about that little fact. Hmph, it doesn't matter now. Anyway, the people the Hakkeshu gathered were surprisingly all women. They were sacrificed, but one of them was saved by the Yata clan. Lacking the power to destroy the humans, Orochi was defeated by the three clans… heheh, but it will not happen again this time!"

Yashiro paused, as if in deep thought. "Hmm, I should probably tell you that the maiden whom your ancestors helped has one descendant in this time…"

"Impossible, I thought the Orochi clan killed them all when they attacked one of the places of the Kusanagi clan!" Chizuru exclaimed.

"Surprised, I see. But that's not all… who do you think is the surviving descendant? Any guesses, Kusanagi?"

Kyo growled as he shot out a wave of crimson flames but it was cancelled by Chris' purple flames. "Dammit, just spit it out! I'm done talking to you, Orochi filth!"

"Destiny is a fearful thing… Kusanagi, your squeeze! She is the descendant of that maiden!"

"Yuki?!"

Orochi Shermie took over. "Have you seen her lately? Hmm, guess not." She smiled when Kyo's eyes widened. "We are taking really good care of her… before we kill her as a sacrifice that is… hahahah!"

"You goddamn bastards!"

Kyo sprinted forward, only to be flung back when a figure dropped hard to the ground, creating a large crater between the fighters and the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu. As the dust settles, the fighters' eyes widened when the one who was standing at the center of the crater was none other than Ranma.

"Come and stop us if you can… in the meantime, Ranma here will keep you company. Hahahah!" Yashiro shouted as he and the rest of the Hakkeshu walked away.

* * *

**Ryugenzawa**

"The lake… what in the world is happening?"

"Granddad, what is causing this?"

Shinnosuke and his granddad froze when a thunderous roar echoed around the lake, right before the sealed lake exploded, knocking both of them down. Shinnosuke shakily stood up, only to be hurled towards a rock by a large, transparent serpent head, instantly knocking him out.

"Shinnosuke!" his granddad yelled.

Another transparent serpent head emerged out of the lake and roared at the old man's face. The serpent head snarled, opened its mouth and sent purple flames towards Shinnosuke's granddad. It burned him up real good but fortunately he rolled towards the lake, quickly putting it out.

"Ah! Shinnosuke… help me!"

He tried to get out of the lake but he froze when Orochi finally emerged out of the lake, seven heads and all, and looked at him straight in the eye. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours until Orochi's eight head let off a deafening roar and then the remaining heads swatted the old man back.

The eight-headed beast howled once more as it was engulfed in a white light. When Shinnosuke and his granddad finally came to, the eight-headed beast was nowhere in sight, the animals were dying one by one, the lake has dried up and the plants and trees surrounding it has withered as well.

* * *

**Tournament Arena**

Ranma was noticeably different. His hair was an odd mixture of black and white, his violet eyes were vicious and uncaring, and the most obvious one was the aura he was emitting. It was in the form of a large serpent. He was wearing a type of uniform Goenitz used to wear but his was all black along with a short dark-blue cape that was connected to his shoulder guards.

"R-Ranma?"

"All of you… shall perish…" he said in an eerily calm tone.

The Hakkeshu of Fire got behind the fighters in an instant. He swatted Reiko to the far side as he tried to get to the still shocked Chizuru. Kyo was the first one to turn and attempted a spin kick but Ranma easily caught Kyo's leg with both of his hands, lifted him up and slammed him down. Benimaru pulled his arm back as he lunged at the Hakkeshu but to his dismay, Ranma caught it, electric arcs and all, and literally crushed the blonde's hand.

Heidern placed Leona to one side before joining the rest of the fighters to battle the ponytailed teen. He jumped towards Ranma, clamped a hand on the teen's face, and then drove his other hand onto Ranma's stomach. Blood came out seconds later but Ranma took it in stride as he drove his razor sharp fingers to Heidern's body at Amaguriken speed. It was the commander's turn to spill out blood, and the wounds he received were so many and so deep that the fighters wondered if he was still alive after that attack.

"Stop it Ranma! Power…"

Terry couldn't finish as he spent the next few seconds attempting to block the barrage of attacks he was receiving. Andy tried to jump to his brother's aid and kicked the ponytailed teen. Ranma took the brunt of the attack and acted as if that nothing even happened. He elbowed Andy on the throat while delivering a swift kick to the side of Terry's face that sent him flying.

"Sono chikara…" Chizuru began, crouching behind the Hakkeshu with her palms flat. "…fuujimasu!"

To her surprise, Ranma bent backwards, placed both hands on the floor for support, and allowed her arm to harmlessly pass over him. He continued his counter by grabbing her arm as he got back up and raised it up high, lifting her body along with it and inciting a scream from her as well.

Ranma stared directly into her eyes. "Kill…"

* * *

The Hakkeshu's eyes widened when blood suddenly splashed out of his back, ripping part of his clothes and forcing him to release the priestess as well. He hunched in pain for a minute before he turned around, only to find himself face to face with Yagami.

"I woke up and see you fighting women, bah, now I know that you're not Saotome, even I can tell that much." He said, slashing Ranma's chest and tearing out a portion of his clothing.

Ranma hopped back for a second before lunging forward and punching Iori in the stomach, followed by a sickening kick to the side of the redhead's face that made him slide along the ground. Ranma ran after him, clamped his hand around Iori's neck and tossed him up. He casually stood as he waited for a few moments before raising an arm up that soon stabbed the descending redhead in the stomach.

Fortunately, Ralf quickly tackled the Hakkeshu so as not to make the wound inflicted on Yagami any deeper. Ranma snarled and drove his knee on Ralf's stomach multiple times and then he grabbed his opponent's arm and twisted it, breaking it as it forces an anguished scream from Ralf.

Clark tried coming to his partner's aid but he only got caught up in the purple flames that suddenly exploded out of the ground Ranma was standing on, burning both him and his partner. Ranma casually walked out of the purple flames, and to the fighters, it looks as if he was gliding rather than walking towards them.

The Hakkeshu turned to his side and saw that Iori has grabbed a hold of his leg. He frowned slightly, and kicked Iori several times on the head but the Orochi warrior refused to let go. Iori's head was promptly buried deep into the ground as the ponytailed teen pried himself loose, jumped way up high and stomped hard on the redhead.

Ranma slowly walked over the downed Orochi warrior and clamped a hand on Iori's neck once more, lifted him up in the air as he struggled to breathe. The ponytailed teen looked him in the eye as purple flames swirled around his free hand. "It's such a short-lived life…" (1)

* * *

**Cave Entrance**

"Is Ranma going to be alright? Hey, answer me will you?!" Shermie yelled at the rest of the Hakkeshu, sending out huge amounts of lightning as she did so.

Yashiro, Mature and Vice ignored her completely but the grim look on their faces was enough to make the Hakkeshu of Lightning worry. She clenched her fists and was about to attack her fellow clan members when Chris tugged at her clothes and looked at her with a smile. "Don't worry about him Shermie. Everything is going according to plan."

That both worried and assured her but she kept silent. There was something about the tone that this member of the sacred tribe used which made her very uneasy, that and the fact that Chris was emitting a much powerful aura than any one of them at the moment. Imagine, a mere clansman having more power over the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu. That should've been impossible even if he is one of two potential vessels.

"Eheh, you guys notice that?" Yamazaki chuckled.

Vice chuckled back at him. "A mere worm, just ignore him Yamazaki. One mere human can't stop our plans, heh, and after Ranma kills those fighters, nothing will stand in our way."

The Hakketsu Shuu chose to ignore the man watching them as they entered the cave. Said man laughed as he walked out of the bushes. Ash smiled mischievously, glancing at the cave entrance rather intently. "A mere worm? You should watch your mouth Hakkeshu. I am trying to help all of you resurrect your god so insulting me is not a very good idea."

He pulled out the pendant from his pocket and smiled as it glowed brightly. "A little more, just a little more and you will be free from that accursed curse and then… you will be mine…"

* * *

Back at the arena, Ranma arched his arm back and was about to put a hole into Iori's chest when his body was swiftly engulfed in crimson flames, followed by a barrage of electric arcs that hurled him back. "Heh, I can't believe I'm saving you of all people."

Iori coughed as he kneeled down. "The feeling's damn mutual Kusanagi…"

"I am one with Gaia… the powers of the elements are mine to use…" Ranma said in an even, more like a mechanical tone as he raised his arms up high. Pillars of purple flames exploded everywhere, barely missing the fighters, especially the heavily injured ones. Benimaru was unfortunate to get caught up into one of the rising pillars, which burned his entire body real bad. He fought the pain it brought but his fall finally made him lose consciousness.

Kyo and Iori jumped to the sides to avoid a few lightning bolts that came down from the sky. Then they had to jump in the air to avoid the rising ground down below. Terry and Andy were busy carrying Blue Mary and Mai as they try to avoid the flame pillars and the lightning bolts while the rest of the fighters were being encased inside a protective seal created by a heavily exhausted Reiko.

Ranma eventually noticed the seal and the struggling Reiko so he held a hand up and sent a small tornado towards the protective barrier. Reiko grimaced from the collision and soon went down to her knees as the tornado continues to gather more strength the more it clashes with her barrier. No matter how hard she struggled, she only delayed the inevitable, the barrier was shattered but the tornado dissipated as well.

"Prepare for your deaths… it will all be over soon…"

Iori shakily got back up to his feet as he summoned his purple flames. "Yeah right… I'm not going down without a fight, Saotome. You will have to kill me in order to stop me, but I doubt that I'll go down by your hands."

Kyo followed suit, calling out his crimson flames as he spoke, "I will save Yuki, and you will not stop me Hakkeshu! I will kill you right here!"

Both fighters' eyes widened when a surge of energy came from behind them, darted forward and struck Ranma in the chest, sending him flying back and crashing to a huge pile of rocks and debris. Their eyes widened even more when Ranma stood up a few moments later but he shakily went back down as blood gushed out of his chest.

* * *

"Don't make me do this." Chizuru warned, concentrating all of her power towards the floating artifact in front of her. Ranma stood up, tried to take step forward but he was immediately pushed back by the immense power the priestess was currently wielding.

"Is that…?" Kyo asked, looking at the artifact with some sort of recognition.

Reiko practically lost it when she got a good look at it. "The Yata mirror! My lady! Are you going to kill Miss Leona and Master Yasakani as well?! If you release the power this close to them, they will surely die along with Mr. Ranma!"

Benimaru let off a dry chuckle while lying motionlessly on the floor as the winds around the place got stronger. "You're kidding right? We barely damaged him and you're saying that the little artifact Kagura is holding has the power to kill him? Get real!"

"I'm serious! Hakkeshu or no, Ranma will surely die if he's that close to it! Besides, hasn't anyone got it yet?! The Orochi Hakketsu Shuu has the power of the elements, you can even call it godly powers if you wish but the fact is that their bodies are still human! They can still get hurt and they can still be killed! The Yata mirror is the artifact that seals Orochi, their god. What do you think it'll do to his followers or those tainted with his blood especially at point-blank range?"

Everybody's eyes widened in realization. Ralf and Clark immediately grabbed Leona and Heidern with their good arm and ran out harms way as fast as they could, Benimaru was slowly being assisted by Reiko and surprisingly, Kyo was helping Iori get back up his feet as they also tried to move back. The rest of the fighters just backed away and watched the confrontation between Chizuru and Ranma from a distance.

"Don't expect me to return the favor, Kusanagi."

"Heh, I know, we'll discuss that some other time, Yagami."

Chizuru was surprised when Ranma stoically leapt at her with an arm extended forward in hopes of getting a hold of the Yata mirror. Surprised because the ponytailed teen was rapidly being torn apart, his flesh was being ripped from his body at an unbelievable rate but instead of jumping back, Ranma pressed on and tried to grab the mirror, without any hesitation whatsoever.

"Stop it! You'll die if you continue doing that…!" Chizuru's eyes widened, letting off a small gasp as she finally understood what the teen said a little earlier. _'Kill… did you mean… that one? Is that what you were trying to tell me?'_

-----

_"Well then, goodnight. And good luck in your match tomorrow."_

_"Yeah, thanks again…" Ranma took a step forward before pausing. "Hey, Chizuru? Can I ask you a favor?"_

_Chizuru turned around. "Yes? What is it?"_

_Ranma bowed his head, his bangs covering his eyes. "If… If I start to lose control in the tournament or anywhere for that matter…" he paused and bit his lip. "…please kill me…"_

_"What…?" Chizuru gasped out, her eyes widening by the second._

_The ponytailed teen chuckled mirthlessly. "I know that you have the knowledge and the power to kill someone with Orochi blood, that's why I'm asking you. Um, you don't have to answer right away… just… just… please… I don't want to take another life when I go into the Riot of Blood or the Awakening for that matter. Please, spare me the pain. Kill me once I start to lose it…"_

-----

Chizuru took a step back, slowly put her hands down and looked at Ranma with a sad smile. "This isn't you…"

-----

_'Why? Why is he saving me?' Chizuru thought as she watched the ponytailed teen bury his arm to the side of the cliff, creating a human lifeline while holding her by the waist with his other arm. "W-Why…?"_

-----

The Kagura priestess closed her eyes and began to concentrate once more, causing a huge amount of energy to swirl around her mirror. "This isn't the real you."

-----

_Ranma gave her a sad smile and began to walk away. He opened the door and said one last thing to her. "I guess… I'm still trying to be human, no matter how hopeless it may be."_

-----

Everyone gaped when the Kagura priestess halted her attack as the mirror went back inside her body. Ranma limply stepped forward as he looked at Chizuru with those vicious violet eyes of his. Chizuru surprisingly just stood there and waited for the ponytailed teen. The Hakkeshu was panting heavily as he neared her but he didn't let that get in his way, he tried to grab her neck but he stopped when the priestess yelled out the one thing that he truly desired.

"Human!" Chizuru yelled, looking at him in the eye. "'I'm still trying to be human'… those were your words, wasn't it?! This isn't you… this isn't what you wanted. Why do you follow Orochi's will? You told me yourself that you do not want to harm other people, why are you doing this then?"

The Hakkeshu gritted his teeth as he placed a hand to one side of his head. "Shut up…"

Chizuru screamed in pain as Ranma slashed her chest, ripping out a part of her clothes in the process. She endured the pain and continued to talk to the ponytailed teen. "You know I speak the truth, look at them!" she shouted, pointing towards the rest of the fighters.

"With the power you just displayed, you could've easily killed them yet you chose not to. It's because you are human, Ranma. It doesn't matter whether you have Orochi blood or not, you are who you choose to be and this isn't it. This isn't your will… it's that eight-headed beast's!"

Ranma screamed as he grabbed Chizuru by the neck. His wounds were starting to take effect, he was bleeding profusely, spitting out blood as he gritted his teeth and clutched his head with his other hand. "Shut up…"

"Please… come to your senses… come back to us… you said you did it before… you can do it again… fight it… Ranma… fight… it… please… you're more human than you think…"

"Human…" he mumbled, letting go of Chizuru, and taking a few steps back as swirls of energy began to surround him. He clutched his head while screaming in pain. The swirls of energy began to flow upwards, inciting a much more anguished scream every time it did so. Tears soon began to trickle down his pain-filled face. "I'm… human…!"

Then all of a sudden, the energy took the form of a large, transparent serpent head, it roared loudly as it flew to who knows where. Ranma's eyes, eyes that still have its violet hue, were now stripped of its viciousness and hatred. He lost consciousness as he fell forward, right into the waiting arms of Chizuru.

Chizuru fell down with him, and with her arms wrapped around his body, she smiled genuinely, and whispered a word into his ear as she held him closer. "Okaerinasai…"

* * *

**Temple**** of ****Worship******

Orochi Shermie snapped her head up and clutched her now aching chest. What did just happen? It's like something has gone terribly wrong. At least, she thought and feared that something has gone wrong, and wouldn't you know it? She was right. "Hey Chris, when will Ranma return to the temple? He must've killed all of them by now so why hasn't he come back yet?"

"Unfortunately, sensei will be delayed a lot longer than you think." Orochi Chris calmly replied, pointing to the purple wave of energy in the sky.

The rest of the Hakketsu Shuu had to cover their ears when a thunderous roar echoed around the altar. Orochi Shermie gaped when a transparent serpent head was rapidly circling the place. The serpent head roared once more before it flew up and slammed into one of the eight, twenty-foot high, stone pillars that were surrounding the altar. It swirled for a bit before exploding and turning into purple flames.

"What is that?"

"That is the reason why Ranma will take some time to get here. He shunned Orochi-sama's will once more. Heh, I never thought he had such resolve. I guess someone really doesn't want to be with his real family." Orochi Yashiro said with a grin, yanking at his glove as made the ground to tremble.

Yamazaki smirked as well. "Heheh, that means more kills for me."

* * *

The group was now inside a hotel, a few blocks away from the destroyed arena. Reiko, Iori, Chizuru and Ranma were inside one room, discussing the current conditions of the fighters. Surprisingly, Chizuru was still beside the ponytailed teen, allowing his head to rest on her lap.

"Not good, Benimaru and Daimon are seriously hurt, so are Mai and Blue Mary. Commander Heidern is in critical condition and Ralf and Clark suffered broken arms, third degree burns and a few internal injuries as well. Fortunately, the rest of the Ikari mercenaries arrived and are now preparing to transport the wounded to their camp in Tokyo."

"Thank you Reiko, but I must ask you to go with them, they'll need all the help they can get and your abilities will be most useful there and If my guess is right, Andy will go with you as well but I don't know if Terry will stay or not."

Reiko wanted to protest but one look at Chizuru made her sigh in resignation. She walked out of the room and went down the hallway, where Kyo was currently resting inside one of the rooms along with an exhausted Terry Bogard and a sleeping Leona Heidern.

The Kagura priestess turned her head to the side and asked, "Are you sure you're alright? That stab wound is a lot deeper than I first thought. You should have it looked at by the doctors here…"

Iori was not in the mood to beat around the bush. "Why didn't you use that artifact on Goenitz? It would've saved us a lot of trouble last year if you used it from the very beginning."

Chizuru shook her head, looking down at the sleeping Ranma as she brushed his hair. "The Yata mirror takes time to gather its energy, using it on Goenitz would have drained it to its limits due to his extraordinary speed and powers over wind. That's why I need its power to seal Orochi, not to waste the mirror's energy on its Hakkeshu."

"Use it to seal Orochi, eh? Let me ask you this, why did you use some of its power to subdue Saotome then? And when he was choking the life out of you, you used some of it on him yet again." Iori said casually, he smirked and his eyes had an amused look as the Kagura priestess struggled for words to say.

"Uh… Uhn…" Ranma muttered.

Chizuru looked at the ponytailed teen, relieved by the distraction. "He's coming to…"

Iori cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Oh, I've been waiting for this. Wake up Saotome… you and I are going to have a little talk."

Ranma groaned as he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry but he knew that he was staring at someone's face, except he can't identify the person just yet. He focused his eyes and smiled slightly when the image became a little bit clearer. "An angel…" he muttered before passing out again.

This of course, was heard by the other two people in the room. One was trying to hide a blush that has quickly formed on her face while the other one basically ignored it because he was a little peeved that Ranma passed out before he could pay him back.

"My Lady!" Reiko shouted, barging into the room all of a sudden.

"What is it Reiko?"

Reiko took a few deep breaths before answering, "It's Master Kusanagi, he's gone after the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu by himself, saying that he'll track them down and he will not stop until Yuki is safe. Terry Bogard went after him while Leona went to tell me everything."

"L-Lets go then… I know where they are…" Ranma said faintly, rubbing his still blurry eyes as he regained consciousness.

* * *

**Forest**** Path**

After discussing their current situation, Ranma, Chizuru, Leona and Iori were now walking towards the place the ponytailed teen told them about, Goenitz' hideaway, the only place that has any connection to Orochi in this area. Iori and Leona took front while Ranma was at the back, still too weak to walk by himself so Chizuru was assisting him for the time being. He had an arm wrapped around the priestess' neck as they walked forward.

"How are you feeling?"

Ranma shook his head slightly. "I just feel a little drained, that's all. I really don't remember what happened. Last I recall was being chained to a wall and then… nothing."

"I see… maybe it's best that way…"

"But there was one thing that I remember very clearly. I remember someone calling out to me, I-I think that the voice was trying to help me in overcoming my pain, my burden…" he paused and looked at Chizuru with a small smile. "It was you. You brought me back, right?"

Chizuru smiled back. "I don't need my mirror to know that you're not the kind to give up on something important to you that easily."

Ranma chuckled slightly. "Am I that easy to figure out?"

"Yes."

Both shared a laugh at that, until Ranma finally noticed his bangs and the odd mixture of black and white hair he has. Chizuru was a bit surprised to see him so calm after noticing the changes in his hair and eyes. When she asked him why, he just said that he finally accepted what he is, he's human but he also accepted that he has Orochi blood in his veins. He guessed that his appearance was a result of that.

"Chizuru, I want to thank you… you know, for everything…"

"Is should say the same to you, um, for saving me from that cliff… I never thanked you for that so… thank you…"

The two turned and stared at each other for who knows how long, that is until a certain irritated redhead scoffed at them. "Look, if you two want to make out, that's fine by me. You can back out right now. I can handle them by myself."

Chizuru and Ranma hurriedly broke their gaze as they walked forward.

Leona giggled a bit before she turned towards Iori. "You know, you really can be a nice guy if you want to."

"Tell that to someone else and I promise that I'll rip your head off." He snapped, placing his hands inside his pocket and walked ahead of the three.

The blue-haired girl just smiled and shook her head.

* * *

**Cave Entrance**

"We're here…" Ranma said in between gasps.

"This is the cave? Hmph, I thought it would at least be guarded or something…" Iori paused when both Terry and Kyo's body flew past him as they slid to the ground.

Leona quickly went to the aid of the downed fighters while both Ranma and Chizuru looked at the redhead with a frown. "You and your big mouth…"

Iori scoffed at the two before turning his head towards the cave entrance, where a certain individual was now walking towards them. The figure was wearing an ancient mask that completely conceals his face and a dark cloak that covers his entire body. He chuckled as he looked at Chizuru, Ranma, Leona and a slightly irritated Iori. "So the key players are finally here, good."

"Who dragged you out of the circus?"

"A childish attempt to get to me, ah, but it is what I expected from a member of the traitorous Yasakani clan though." He said nonchalantly.

Iori snarled, dashed in and swung an arm at the masked figure but his eyes widened when the figure disappeared and reappeared behind him. "How…?"

"Hahaha… I'm over here. Nice try though, Yagami-kun."

The figure laughed and disappeared yet again, Chizuru gasped in surprise when Ranma shoved her back as he got in front of her all of a sudden. She looked over the ponytailed teen's shoulder to find out that the figure reappeared a few feet in front of her, and that Ranma has blocked the figure's fist that she knew was intended for her. "I should say the same to you. Nice try, you masked weirdo."

"Oho…! I get it now." the masked figure whispered back to Ranma.

Chizuru glared at he masked figure. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Nobody in particular… I guess you can call me an Orochi fanatic. I just wanted to buy some time for the resurrection so I decided to have some fun with Terry Bogard and Kyo Kusanagi first. Oh my, I guess it worked, they're already starting the ritual…" He jumped onto a tree branch and hopped away.

Ranma was about to give chase when he and the rest of the fighters suddenly clutched their head in pain as a thunderous inhuman roar passed by them. "What in the world was that?!"

Terry shook his head. "I don't know but I do know that it went inside the cave."

"Well, there's no going back now…" Ranma began, looking at the rest of the group with fiery eyes. Seeing everyone nod, he, with the help of Chizuru, started walking inside the cave. "…let's go…"

Ash walked back to the cave entrance, removed his mask, and smirked as he muttered, "I'll see you two later, Saotome-kun, Kagura-san. Oh yes, I'll see you two very soon."

* * *

"I can't see a thing, are you sure we're going the right way?" Kyo asked placing a hand on a wall for support as he continued to walk forward.

Ranma went ahead of him, entered the next room to the right, and came out carrying a couple of lamps. "Here, take this. Now, come on and follow me. There's not much time, I can sense it. Whatever it was that made that sound, I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the resurrection of Orochi."

_'Not good, the numbers are even but most of us are injured and if Ranma's display of power was any indication, we're going to be in for the fight of our lives…' _Terry thought with a frown.

The group soon made it to Goenitz' quarters, Chizuru reflexively shivered when she entered the place, this is the room of the man who ruined her life. Ranma made his way to the door with the weird markings and took a few deep breaths as he turned to face the rest of the group. "I don't know what's in there but those that refuse to go can leave, no one is forcing you to fight."

The reactions varied, but the results were the same. Iori scoffed at that, Leona shook her head, Terry bowed his head as he shook his cap, Kyo pounded his fists together and finally, Chizuru looked him in the eye and nodded to him.

Ranma nodded back at them, faced the door and placed a hand on it. A bright light soon filled the room, the fighters covered their eyes and waited for the light to disperse and when it did, they were now looking at a spiral staircase that has blood and flesh on the walls. "Let's finish this…"

* * *

(1) – Gee, wonder whose line that was…

**AN: **Ashy washy =P. Last two chapters left. Hopefully I can finish it this week so I could concentrate on Dark Ascension next before real life decides to ruin it for me, ja ne!

**Next The Revival of the Demon**

_"That's it, that's the spirit! There's no choice but to fight! But even if you win, a living hell awaits you!"_


	26. The Revival of the Demon

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! [WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!] Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

Flames of Destiny

By Insane Blight

Chapter 22: **The Revival of the Demon**

* * *

"Damn, this place is disgusting!" Kyo yelled, looking at the blood, human blood, which was abundant on the floor. He had a hand covering his mouth so that he could at least avoid losing his lunch because of the unbearable stench of human flesh that was all over the place. "Not to mention that we seem to be going in circles!"

Terry was feeling the same way, so does Chizuru but the other three, Ranma, Iori, and Leona have stopped walking, turned their heads to the side and were now staring at a large room to their left. When Chizuru asked what was wrong, Ranma frantically tried telling her that everything was fine and there's nothing to worry about. Curiosity taking over, she took one glance over the ponytailed teen's shoulder and screamed.

It was Ranma's turn to support the priestess. He held her close as he hesitantly asked, "…they're members of the Yata clan, right?"

Chizuru let off a muffled sob and nodded as she grabbed onto Ranma's shirt tightly.

"How could anyone be so cruel?" Leona whispered, fists clenching in anger. Sure, she has killed when in the Riot of Blood and even during some of her missions, but the way these people were murdered…

"A fine piece of work, wouldn't you say so?" A voice casually said.

All of the fighters, except for the distraught Chizuru and Ranma, immediately went into their fighting stances when the large door in the middle opened to reveal a grinning Ryuji Yamazaki. He was carrying his favorite knife at one hand and he was carrying a small, black suitcase on the other. "How do you like it? Nice and clean, eh? Damn, she really did hate their guts."

"She…?"

"Mature. Eheh… never knew she had it in her to do this kind of thing though."

For her part, Chizuru was a bit surprised that she couldn't feel any sort of anger towards the Hakkeshu of Light. She went over to her murdered clan members and muttered a small prayer before turning back to an unusually calm and collected Yamazaki. _'I… I'm tired of this never-ending battle, this never-ending bloodshed…' _"Why haven't you attacked yet? You are a Hakkeshu and it's your duty to stop us, right?"

Yamazaki laughed. "Ha! Duty? Don't make me laugh! True, I was hired by Mature to work with them to resurrect that stupid god of theirs. But I never did say for how long, eheh."

"So you're leaving, just like that? And you're not even going to fight us?" Terry asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Well, to be blunt, I hope they fail." He held a hand up and continued, "Why do you ask? Heh, think about it. I like this world as it is! This world is full of interesting people. People killing each other for reasons such as fame, fortune, and power, people that will stab you in the back the minute you put your guard down. Basically, this is my kind of world, a world full of greed and deception. Why would I resurrect a rather boring god that wants nothing but to destroy this paradise?"

The group was silent, despite Yamazaki's twisted view of the world, he raised a valid point, whether he wanted to or not.

Yamazaki tapped Terry on the shoulder as he walked past him. "Well, I'm off. They're at the very top, go into the room I came out of and take the second spiral staircase to the right, keep going 'till you reach the top. Oh, and that Kushinada girl is still alive last time I checked. You guys better hurry, they're starting something when I gave them the slip."

Ranma watched as Yamazaki slowly disappeared from view. He looked around and noticed the reluctant looks on Terry, Kyo and Leona's faces. He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist to a wall. "Goddamn it! We could just stay here and mope about what he said or we could stop the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu and their plan to kill us, our loved ones, our families and friends, well?!"

* * *

Yuki had to bear yet another deafening roar when a transparent multi-headed beast and its seven serpent heads arrived at the top. Said beast exploded, went to the top of the seven remaining pillars, and like the first serpent head, they quickly changed into purple flames.

"Is it finally ready?" Yashiro asked.

"Yes." Chris replied with a grin.

Mature, Vice, Shermie, Chris and Yashiro each went to one of the pillars, closed their eyes, and began to concentrate. The purple flames above the five pillars flared wildly, and it would've continued to do so, had it not have been for the crashing sound of the temple door located to their side. Ranma was standing in the middle with an arm stretched forward. He glared disdainfully at the five remaining Hakkeshu before he motioned for the rest of the group to enter.

"You're finally here! Took you long enough!"

Shermie looked at Ranma sadly. "So, you'll choose to fight against us and oppose Orochi's will no matter what…"

Ranma nodded as he looked her in the eye, then he turned his gaze towards Mature and Chris. "I know it's useless to try and talk you down, but if this is the only way to stop you and your plans then I will not hesitate to fight all of you. It's time to end this battle."

Yashiro just grinned at him. He looked up to the sky, raised his arms, and brought them back down, causing a huge earthquake as he did so. "That's it, that's the spirit! There's no choice but to fight! But even if you win, a living hell awaits you!"

* * *

"Mezamerou, daichi yo!" (1) Yashiro immediately stomped his left foot on the ground, causing the earth to rise as it heads toward a not so surprised Kyo.

Kyo rolled to the side, went to a kneeling position, and then dashed forward as he gathered his power to send his crimson flames forward. He had to stop though, when Yashiro took a few steps to the side and revealed that a tied up Yuki was lying right on the ground, just behind the Hakkeshu of Earth. "Yuk…!"

"Icchimai na!" (2)

Yashiro got down to one knee, held his hand up, and blasted Kyo with a light-blue projectile that was being surrounded by small pieces of rocks. He chuckled as he got up, yanked at his gloves, and smiled at the Kusanagi heir, who was currently imbedded to one of the stone pillars. "What will you do now, Kusanagi? You can't attack me because you'll end up killing poor Kushinada if you did so!"

"Yu… Yuki… damn it…"

"Maybe he can't, but I will!"

Yashiro was flung back when he received an energy-covered punch from Terry Bogard, who has already unchained the Kushinada girl as she clung to his shirt while shaking like a leaf. "Kyo, Yuki is safe! Go and finish him off, now!"

Kyo has already gotten up and dashed towards Yashiro the minute he knew that Yuki was safe. Reiko's words has come to mind as he relentlessly punched and kicked the Hakkeshu of Earth, they have inhuman powers but they can still be hurt and they can still be killed. He tossed Yashiro up, drew his flame-covered arm back, flames formed around his body as he waited for the blonde's descent. "This will… finish it! Die, Hakkeshu!"

* * *

"Oritekinasai!" (3) Orochi Shermie yelled as she raised both hands, brought it down to a fist, right before a lightning bolt strikes her body. "Prepare for your death, Kagura."

Chizuru held a hand up as she went into her fighting stance. "Unfortunately, I have no intention of dying just yet. Like Ranma said, we don't want to kill you but if that's what's going to take to stop your plans to resurrect Orochi, then you leave us with no other choice…"

Shermie merely smiled at that. She hunched over and her body trembled as a soft chuckle escaped her lips. Then she snapped her head up, held a hand up, and pointed to the Kagura priestess as she gave her a slightly crazed look. "Anata shinuwa." (4)

The priestess' eyes widened when electric arcs shot out of Shermie's finger. She ducked down to avoid the first one and rolled back to avoid the second. It was obvious that Shermie wants to keep her at bay, and the purple-haired woman was doing an exceptional job of it too. Chizuru hid behind one of the stone pillars, chanted a few words and then she ran around the place, leaving illusions to each one of the pillars, thus confusing her opponent.

"Do you think your illusions can stop me?! My Lightning, come forth! Destroy this miserable little cockroach!"

True to her word, Lightning bolts descended down onto the eight stone pillars, making them explode upon impact. Chizuru eventually got caught up in the explosion and was hurled back by the blast. What was left of the stone pillars was eight, four feet pillars, that was glowing with energy.

Chizuru slowly got up but Orochi Shermie was already in front of her. She tried to roll to the side but the purple-haired woman's following attack was so powerful that she also got caught up in it.

"Ankoku Rai Kou Ken!"

Shermie grabbed the badly burned Chizuru off the floor and gave her a crazed smile. She raised her free hand and lightning suddenly struck both her and Chizuru's body. Shermie laughed at the priestess' pain-filled screams as she said, "This is your fate… sweet dreams, priestess…"

* * *

"Deteoide, boku no honoo!" (5) Orochi Chris said with a smile, opening both hands as he summoned his purple flames. He looked at his sensei and couldn't help but give him an innocent look. "Why have you changed your mind, Ranma? You gave in to Orochi's will, didn't you? I thought you'd stay by our side and we could be together as a family… why did you choose them?"

"My flame, one last time…" Ranma muttered, calling out his own purple flames as it swirled around his arm. "I'm sorry Chris, but I simply cannot join you. I fight to protect, not to destroy, this has been my belief ever since I was a child."

Chris frowned. "Why sensei? Why fight to protect these humans? When I went into the awakening process, I only saw their sick smiles as they murdered our ancestors one by one. They pillaged their homes, beheaded the children and toyed with the women, are those kinds of humans worth protecting?!"

Ranma remained unfazed. "You were the one who told me that there are two sides to everything. When you had no knowledge whatsoever of your heritage, you accepted me for what I am even though most would run the minute they find out the truth. So I should ask you the same thing, why?"

"Yes, I used to think that way… that is until 'he' told me what happened to my parents. You had the chance to talk to him, right? He told me that the Kusanagi clan killed my parents. They hunted them down like animals even when they begged for mercy! Ranma, the two of us are the only ones capable of bringing him back here… and I for one want him to destroy the humans."

Chris paused as his lips quivered. "I admit, I don't want to fight you seriously Ranma but as you said, there are two sides to everything. I fight for my belief, you fight for yours. That's it."

"Yes, it all comes down to that, doesn't it? I don't want to fight you for real as well, and I'm going to be honest with you, I had hoped that after the tournament was over, I was going to ask my mother to adopt you so you can become my little brother…"

Tears fell from Chris' eyes as he smiled. "I would've liked that… if only things were a little different. But we can't go back. This is what we chose to do. I hope you're ready Ranma because I will not hold back."

* * *

"Asobi wa… owari da…! What?"

Iori stopped his attack when Vice and Mature simply jumped back and began walking away from him and Leona. He snarled and was about to blast them with his purple flames when the two looked over their shoulders and gave him a mischievous grin. "You're not fighting us?"

"No, we have other business to take care off. You can help your fellow fighters if you want. Frankly, we want to accomplish our own objectives without the four Heavenly Kings of Orochi! See you later!" Mature and Vice stated as they walked out the door and went down the stairs, leaving an irritated Iori and a puzzled Leona behind.

"The hell?! Have all of them had a change of heart all of a sudden?!" Iori cried out in frustration. "First Yamazaki, now those two Orochi Hakketsu Shuu? From my experience with them, they're certainly Orochi loyalists!"

Leona also felt like something was amiss but she put it off for now, she had to help the others first. Iori saw this and decided to help out as well that is until both their bodies were suddenly engulfed in pain. They tried to lean on the pillars for support but all it did was intensify the pain to the point that both of them passed out.

* * *

Orochi Yashiro screamed as Kusanagi's punch forced him to skid to the side of the place. Fortunately, he managed to grab onto the ledge to avoid falling to the ground below. Kyo stared rather coldly at the Hakkeshu but Yashiro responded by giving him a maniacal grin. "Well, what are you waitin' for? Do it! Kill me, like how your ancestors killed mine, even when they were defenseless! C'mon! Do it, Kusanagi!"

Kyo stood there for a few moments before he drew his arm back, closed his eyes, and then brought his hand back down. He could hear Yuki's faint gasp from the side as he offered his hand to the hanging Hakkeshu rather than strike him in anger. "I know I'm going to regret this later, c'mon, take my hand."

"You're really…" Yashiro paused, closing his eyes, and smiling widely. Then his crimson eyes snapped open as he grabbed Kyo's arm and yanked on it, almost causing the Kusanagi heir to lose his balance. "…the biggest idiot I've ever seen! I'll take you to down with me, Kusanagi. I'll take you to where our ancestors are waiting!"

Yuki frantically screamed for his name while Terry was busy helping Kyo from going over the edge. Yashiro's strength was more than both Kyo and Terry could handle, and they can feel that they were in a losing battle with the Hakkeshu of Earth. Just when they were almost pulled in, Ranma's voice echoed around the place as he shouted a very familiar move name.

"Hiryu Shoten Ha!"

Fortunately, the wind gusts that the hurricane produced swatted Terry and Kyo to the side, away from the edge of the temple. Unfortunately, that strong gust of wind also struck the ledge that Yashiro was clinging to. Oddly enough, the Hakkeshu just let off a low chuckle, closed his eyes, and waited for his descent to the ground below. _'I'm finally free…'_

Yuki watched the scene with wide eyes. She screamed yet again before Kyo went over to her and hugged her tightly, trying to appease the shocked woman. Terry bowed his head but he looked back up when he suddenly realized that the hurricane was still a few feet behind them. He was about to go and grab Kyo and Yuki when he noticed that the hurricane was weakening. He wondered for a bit before he finally noticed the ponytailed boy that was standing at the middle of it.

Ranma yelled as the move was slowly starting to dissipate. He looked up in concern when the spinning body of Chris came crashing down to the center of the place. His eyes widened when he didn't notice any movement from the brown-haired teen for quite some time and that blood was starting to flow out of the boy's body. "No, please no… don't die on me Chris, please don't die!"

He slowly made his way towards his student but had to stop when his eye caught something from the side. His eyes widened even more as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at what he saw. He called out his flames and jumped to his right as he yelled, "No!"

* * *

Meanwhile, deep below the temple of worship, Ash grinned as he gazed upon a large, greenish seal in the form of a gigantic serpent. (6) "This is the place she wanted me to place it, huh? I just don't understand women…"

He clasped his hands together and summoned his green flames. Then he held his arms up and he grinned as his flames shot out of his hands and began to engrave something on the ground. "Orochi, Gaia's chosen… so many people despise you yet so many also worship you. But I'm not like either one of them. I just want something that you have, something similar to what Chizuru Kagura has…"

His eyes narrowed when he sensed two people approaching the room. He quickly willed the writing on the ground to disappear as he hid from them.

"Vice, are you sure about this?" Mature asked hesitantly.

"Mature, we already discussed this a long time ago, remember? Besides, you took it to the next level when you brutally killed those Yata clan members."

Mature hesitated again before she finally nodded. Both women raised their hands in the air, a few moments before their bodies were suddenly filled with pain. Swirls of energy flowed out of their bodies and went straight to the green seal in the middle. Cracks soon began to form around it and soon enough, it shattered to pieces.

Vice staggered and took a few steps back before leaning on a wall for support. "It's complete, now the vessel shall finally be chosen, and there is not a damn thing Chris or Ranma can do about it."

Her blonde partner just laid down on the floor, totally spent. She slowly began to close her eyes as unconsciousness claimed her. Vice was next in line as she slumped on the wall as she slowly slid to the ground.

A few moments later, Ash stood between the women, looked at them, smiled and walked out of the room. "Thank you, you Hakkeshu are so predictable."

* * *

Orochi Shermie scowled when Chizuru vanished in front of her eyes all of a sudden. She gritted her teeth and let off a deafening scream as lightning bolts rained down on the entire area. When she calmed down a bit, she finally noticed Ranma, who was carrying the badly burned Chizuru, looking at her with a frown. "Why are you looking at me like that? You left us for the humans so you have no right to look at me like that!"

"Shermie, I'll only ask one thing… is this really what you want?"

"What…?"

Ranma sighed and carefully placed Chizuru down. "I said is this really what you want? Do you really want to destroy the human race? Do you really want to kill all those people?"

"No." she quickly answered. "I only wanted to be with you… that's why I gave up my humanity, thinking that you will be by my side when I joined the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu but you just had to believe in humans… and you just had to believe in that priestess… you just had to trust her… you just had to fight Orochi's will."

"Shermie… I…"

Orochi Shermie gripped the ponytailed teen's shirt. "I like you Ranma, I don't know if this is really love or not but I care about you, more than you'll ever know. Please come back to me, come back to Orochi, back to the darkness…"

Ranma took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "No, I will not go back. Yes, I have Orochi blood in me but I also have human blood in me. I accept that now and I decided to live among the humans. Some will shun me, I know that, but I also know that some has, or will accept me for what I am. Shermie, open your eyes. Our ancestors only saw one side of humanity, not the other, and if I recall correctly, our ancestors were once human…"

Shermie hid the tears forming around her eyes as she took a few steps back. "No, I can't go back anymore. I'm not as strong-willed as you Ranma. I can't fight his will like you can. I chose my destiny and I have to live with it but… without you… I don't think I could go on anymore."

Lightning bolts suddenly went down and consecutively struck her body, inciting an anguished scream from the twin ponytailed woman each time it connected. Soon enough, her body couldn't take anymore energy and it began to destroy her inside out.

"Stop it Shermie!"

Ranma got behind the screaming Hakkeshu of Lightning and drove his hand to the back her neck, pressing her shiatsu point. The barrage of lightning bolts immediately stopped as Shermie fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. Ranma knelt beside her and looked at her with sad eyes. "I can't… I'm sorry Shermie… I just can't…"

"Is… Is she going to be alright?"

The ponytailed teen looked up to see Chizuru walking towards them albeit slowly. "Yes, but you shouldn't be moving with those injuries."

Chizuru shook her head. "I'm fine Ranma. What was that move you did to her?"

"I only put her to sleep by pressing her shiatsu point, but I don't know if it'll only delay the inevitable or not because…"

"She's already too deep into Orochi's will." The Kagura priestess finished for him. She placed a hand on Ranma's shoulder and to her surprise, Ranma turned around and sobbed on her shoulder. She wondered why at first before she realized that Chris and Shermie were almost always near him these past few weeks. _'You love them as family, don't you? And you feel as if you're losing them one by one…'_

Chizuru was about to wrap her arms around him when he suddenly clutched his head as he screamed in pain. "Ranma? What's wrong? Ranma!"

Flames swirled around his body as he stood up. It went on for a few more seconds before he let off one last scream when the flames vanished all of a sudden as he went back down to his knees. Chizuru immediately knelt beside him as she asked, "What happened? What was that all about?"

"I… I feel… drained…"

It was the beginning of the end…

* * *

**_Gloria Domino_**

The ground suddenly began to tremble, it was followed by a blinding light that came from each of the eight pillars around the area. Iori and Leona finally came to and quickly joined the rest of the group.

**_In Vita Mea_**

Lightning surged downwards onto the circular pillars, flames burst forth in almost every direction, and the tremor intensified as a pillar of light appeared and blew apart the center of the room, the place where the bruised and bloody Chris was currently lying.

**_Gloria Domino_**

**_In Vita Mea_**

A figure slowly floated upwards from the pillar of light in the center. He has white hair and a fairly muscled body. His eyes are closed and there is a strange tattoo that seems to be a symbol of some kind embedded on his chest.

**_Gloria Patriae et Filio, Da pacem._**

****

His eyes snapped open. His pupils were reptilian in nature. His fiery violet aura sprang forth in the form of serpent heads. His power was so immense that it knocked most of the group out except for two people, Iori and Ranma.

****

**_Sicut erat in principio, et nunc_**

**_et semper, et in saecula saeculorum_**

****

Ranma tried to stand up as he locked gazes with the white-haired man. Said white-haired man smiled at him while the ponytailed teen could utter only a single word…

"Orochi…"

****

**_Magnificat anima mea Pacem._**

* * *

(1) – I command you, earth, awaken!

(2) – Go away! (I hate this move. This stupid, fully-charged, unblockable move…)

(3) – Get down here!

(4) – You will die.

(5) – Come out, my flames!

(6) – The last stage (Mukai) of KOF 2003

**AN: **The hymn was taken from Xenosaga; entitled Resurrection (Just thought it was fitting). Okay, so Ranma is not the Orochi (Or is he…?). In any case, explanations are in the next chapter, and who better to answer all these questions than Orochi himself.

**Next Gaia's Herald**

_"Let us all return to nothing…"_


	27. Gaia's Herald

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

_Flames of Destiny_

_By Insane Blight_

**_Gaia's Herald_**__

* * *

"After tearing the cocoon, the butterfly will flutter." Orochi said as he slashed his chest with both of his hands and then he licked the blood from his fingers. He smiled as the wound closed up moments later. He turned to his side and faced both Iori and Ranma, who were currently having difficulty standing up. "My sons, my blood…"

"Wh… What?"

Orochi smiled. "My sons, why do you fight it? Why fight against your own kind? It has already been proven throughout the years that humans are nothing but a plague to this world yet you still try to fight for them. Why?"

Iori stood up first and glared at Orochi. "Bah! Who said that I was fighting for them? It's just that I don't give a damn about them as much as I don't give a damn about you! I only look out for myself and I hate it when someone tries to manipulate me like you did a while ago!"

"While I don't share some of his beliefs…" Ranma began, glaring at Orochi with cold, violet eyes. "You have no right to judge all of us by the mistakes of a few… and don't you even dare say that you have a right to determine our fate just because you're a supposed god! Gaia's herald? Ha! Yeah, right! You look more like a disgruntled lead singer in a rock band!"

Orochi sighed and shook his head. "I was afraid of this act of defiance. But it is to be expected, considering that the two of you, along with Guidel's daughter, are tainted with human blood. You can't help but defend these thrash that is the human race. Very well, if that is your decision, so be it. Mature! Vice! Choose your side now!"

The two women, who just walked into the room, exchanged glances. They stood up and casually walked towards their god, it was a decision they already made long ago. "We shall forever serve you, Orochi-sama."

Ranma turned his head to the side, not wanting to see this side of the Hakkeshu of Light. His eyes were already full of disappointment towards her actions earlier. He instinctively jumped back when the place he was standing on blew up to pieces. He looked up and couldn't help but slump his shoulders when the attacker was his former partner.

"I'll be your opponent, half-breed." Mature said in an even tone.

The ponytailed boy didn't even bother to reply, this was just like his fight with Orochi Shermie but with one major difference: Mature doesn't regret her actions. He summoned his flame, covered his body in it, and began to run to the left side of the temple altar.

* * *

Iori scoffed when he found himself all alone with Vice. Terry, Kusanagi, Chizuru, Shermie and Leona were still knocked out, so it just leaves him and Saotome to finish the job. "Of all the opponents I ended up with, it just had to be with the Orochi loyalist."

Vice smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment, Yagami."

"I'm tired of this game, just shut up and fight."

Iori moved just in time to avoid being slashed by Vice's fingers but not fast enough to dodge her other attack. Vice grabbed his leg and casually threw him into the air like he was nothing, her power seemed to have increased by Orochi's revival as well. He didn't have time to recover from the attack as he found himself crashing down hard on the concrete floor.

Vice slowly raised both of her arms above her head, as if trying to indicate her inevitable victory. "It's useless to fight me anymore, Yagami. You of all people should know that it is suicide to try and stop Orochi-sama now, his power is way beyond our reach, much less any human's."

"Who said that I was trying to stop him in the first place? I told you last year that I don't care if Orochi resurrects or not, I was even planning on helping you out because I only wanted to kill Kusanagi! But you just had to use me against my will, and that's the only thing that pisses me off more than anything in the world!" Iori bellowed, getting up from the floor, summoning his purple flame and staring at Vice with those soulless yellow eyes.

_'R-Riot… he's going into it again?' _Vice thought in absolute horror. She quickly took a step back, her body involuntarily shivered when she recalled what happened to her a year ago.

Riot of Blood Iori roared, arching his body back before hunching forward with a twisted smile. He remained that way until he literally vanished in front of Vice's eyes, his speed was astonishing, even Orochi was a little impressed with the display of power. Iori stopped a few feet behind Vice's shaking form. He grabbed her by the neck and attacked her with consecutive flame burst before finishing it off with a headbutt that promptly busted Vice's head wide open.

Vice staggered from the assault but soon recovered to remove herself from Iori's grip. She countered by burying her razor sharp fingers into the berserker's stomach, just moments before she dragged him across the floor and slamming his body onto one of the stone pillars. _'No… he isn't even hurt!'_

Iori sprinted forward and grabbed the still frozen Vice by her head. He lifted her up, covered her in flames and slammed her face first into the floor. The berserker didn't remove his grip, he let loose another barrage of flame bursts on his opponent and then he threw her towards the far end of the temple room. Vice's body went through several pillars before finally falling to the ground.

Orochi hovered a few feet above the berserker with a wide smile. "Thank you for that fight, but it wasn't enough to fill my body just yet." He held out his hand and blasted Riot of Blood Iori with a black, circular projectile that instantly knocked the berserker down and out, forcing him to revert back to his normal self.

* * *

Ranma leapt back to avoid being slashed by Mature's vacuum blades. "I thought that I knew you, but the woman standing in front of me is nothing like the woman whom I called a friend."

"Shut up half-breed! A friend…? What do you know?!" Mature bellowed, dashing forward and sending another series of attacks to the Orochi half-breed.

Ranma dodged them easily enough, but the force behind them was enough to cut through his clothing when Mature missed. "What do you mean?"

Mature cut him off with a swipe that tore through his shirt. "What the use in telling you?! Now, come on and fight Ranma! Fight me half-breed because I sure am going to fight you!"

She concentrated and a blinding flash of light appeared between the two, temporarily blinding Ranma but it did not do a thing to Mature as she moved in closer and sunk her fingers to the ponytailed teen's stomach. "It's better if you would just die right here!"

But to her shock the one she stabbed just dissipated into thin air. "Falling for a cheap imitation of an illusion technique, are you really ready to fight me seriously?"

A backhand sent Mature to the cold floor. Ranma loomed in closer, purple flames circling his body and stared at the blond with those violet eyes. He drew his arm back and yelled, "It's over Mat…!"

Ranma's attack was halted by a barrier of lightning bolts around the Hakkeshu of Light. He and Mature looked up to see Orochi grinning back at them. With one wave of his hand, Orochi sent the lightning bolts towards the half-breed, electrocuting him with each one. The ponytailed boy was sent to his knees from that attack. He looked up once more and glared at Orochi with absolute contempt. "Damn you…"

* * *

"Thank you for that invigorating fight. It was more than enough to finally bring me to full strength!" Orochi shouted in glee as he hovered at the center of the temple. His aura appeared moments later, in the form of the eight headed serpent.

"What are you talking about?!" Ranma asked, purple eyes narrowing. He has a feeling that he has just been manipulated yet again without him knowing about it.

Orochi smiled. "Surely you've heard about the way the Hakketsu Shuu gathers energy for me, haven't you? I thought Yashiro already explained that part to all of you. Oh…! How silly of me, I was the one in control of your body at that time, my apologies."

Ranma's ire was building the more he talked to this supposed god. "You have his attitude… but you're nothing like the boy I've grown to like."

"And you have a part of me! It was an unexpected mistake on my part to transfer some of my power onto you, a half-breed child of the sacred tribe." Orochi snapped back.

That exclamation raised eyebrows. _'I'm a part of him? When did…! Ryugenzawa… he wasn't trying to eat me like Akane said, he was trying to transfer his power onto me! Is this what my grandmother heard during the Hakkeshu meeting? Is this what Orochi intended for those of my tribe?'_

"Yes, that is what I had originally intended for your tribe."

"????" _'Don't tell me he reads minds as well?!'_

"To answer your question, yes, I can read minds. And I think you get it now. My original body recognized you and the tribe you originated from, that's why I instinctively went for you in an attempt to move into your body. But when the transfer began, you surprisingly went into the Riot of Blood, a sign that you are tainted with human blood thus making it impossible to complete the process."

Ranma clenched his fists tighter. "So then how did you manage to find Chris? He wasn't showing anything related to us at all! He's just a normal boy!"

Orochi closed his eyes. "What a fool you are. What do you think my Hakketsu Shuu were doing all this time? You traitors were still being hunted down like the dogs that you are. Who do you think killed his parents? For that matter, who do you think made the other Heavenly Kings' lives miserable?"

"No… Goenitz…"

"Correct. What an excellent servant he was, a pity he had been defeated by Kusanagi and Yasakani. He found the rest of the traitors, the tribes of the earth, lightning, water and fire. The former three rebelled against me just after your tribe of the sacred flame was destroyed. Goenitz, of course, killed the traitors, but not their children. He knew that they can still be used, sealing their powers and their heritage temporarily is a breeze compared to reawakening them."

By now, Ranma was seething as he summoned his flames. "I get it now. I have transformed into my awakened state when those morons from Nerima decided to attack me while Yashiro, Shermie and Chris all awoke in this tournament, after fighting the world's strongest fighters."

Orochi nodded. "Yes, every time a member of my clan fights, your opponent's energy goes into you and every time it happens, my blood inside you grows stronger and it will continue to do so until you reach the point that your body transforms to your awakened state, along with the memories you receive from your ancestors. That's why all the hatred, all the suffering, all the anger of your clan was passed onto you."

Ranma snarled. "But I'm different from any clan member ever since 'merging' with you, right?"

Orochi smiled. "Indeed. Since you're a half-breed, you should've only gone into the Riot of Blood but since you have a portion of my powers in you, it became possible for you to awaken, even if it is quite unstable. Heh, did you like how I controlled your mind a little while back? You had no memory of that incident but the destruction we caused was proof enough. A pity you had to listen to that priestess and still choose to believe in humans, you would've made a fine Hakkeshu considering your adequate control over the elements."

"Bastard, you 'guided' the four of us here into this tournament and then you used all of us when the time was right. Everything went according to your plan, didn't it? You ordered the three of them to capture Leona and Yagami to force them into the Riot of Blood, you manipulated me and then you made sure that the three of us were together when we came back to this temple, so that all the energy we gathered will be transferred to you." Ranma deduced.

"Impressive, you got it all in one go. But enough idle chatter, it is time to rid myself of those tainted with human blood. Come child, and embrace death."

By now, the rest of the group was starting to come to, Chizuru being the first to regain her senses. She looked up and her eyes slowly began to widen when she stared at the scene in front of her. Both Iori and Ranma were being choked in the air by the newly awakened Orochi, with Mature and the now conscious Vice watching them from the side with twisted smiles. "No… he has really returned…"

Terry and Kyo were the next to come to, followed by Leona and Yuki. Terry didn't waste any time, he quickly leapt at Orochi and tried to punch him in the face but he surprisingly bumped into some sort of invincible wall that hurled him way back as his fist connected with it. This however, was enough to warrant the white-haired man's attention. He released his hold on the two Orochi warriors and looked to his side, with Vice and Mature following his lead.

"How do you like it Kagura? How does it feel now that you have failed your duty that your beloved ancestors passed onto you?" Mature mocked.

Chizuru's hair flowed upwards, startling those near her. "I may have failed in stopping Orochi's awakening, but my mirror still has the power to stop all of you!" she exclaimed, holding out her hands and calling out the Yata mirror.

Orochi just laughed at that. "Power? What power? Oh, my sweet, naïve, Yata priestess. Your ancestors were successful in sealing me only because I was not at full strength, and I don't mean that Kushinada sacrifice. Here, let me show you what I mean by 'full strength'…"

A large, black, circular projectile went straight for the Kagura priestess. Chizuru blocked it with the Yata mirror but she was having a really tough time in just containing it. Ranma saw and felt this so he immediately tackled her out of the way, seconds before the projectile broke through the mirror's powers and it continued to go forward, destroying everything it touches, from the temple pillars to the forest down below.

Orochi laughed when he saw the frozen looks on their faces. "What's wrong? Is this the first time you've seen an actual god? In any case, this is wonderful! I can feel the power coursing through my body. It is more than I ever thought it would be! My Hakketsu Shuu has done an excellent job in gathering the energy for me. Oh, I think I would like to try my powers on… that city over there."

Ranma's eyes widened when his heart produced an unbearable amount of pain as Orochi finished those words. He tried to lunge at the floating god but he has already flown towards the nearest city. "No! Don't!"

* * *

Orochi flew away from the temple at high speed, seemingly enjoying his time in the air. He raised his hand and lightning immediately fell from the sky, it was like rain, pouring non-stop to the city below, the scene it created was beautiful yet deadly. "You pitiful humans… Gaia does not need your kind!"

The lightning barrage stopped when Orochi decided to fly down onto the city. He smiled as he hovered just a few feet above it. The people down below paused in their attempt to escape the barrage of lightning earlier, they looked up and gasped as they stared at Orochi's imposing figure.

"Let us all return to nothing!"

Orochi crossed and raised his arms in front of him. The people down below were introduced to a blinding light but that's not what was on their minds right now. They immediately screamed in pain just as the light touched their skin and they screamed even more when the light intensified, causing their bodies to burst in flames. Men, women, children, hundreds if not thousands of people burned alive in an instant, and Orochi couldn't be more pleased with himself.

The various houses and buildings soon blew up from that attack. Orochi waved a hand in front of him before the ground began to shake. The earthquake was immense, completely destroying the buildings that managed to survive his last attack. He finished it off by holding his hand up and summoning a number of hurricanes, finishing the entire city and its residents off.

"My power is back to normal. All I need now is that Kushinada girl to complete my revival and losing a part of me to him will not be that big of a deal." With that, he flew back to the top of his temple of worship.

* * *

"Oh… oh Kami-sama…" Chizuru breathed out. Everybody else, including Mature and Vice, was stunned by the power Orochi displayed in front of their eyes.

"How can we fight someone as powerful as that?" Leona whispered.

Vice laughed. "You can't, plain and simple!"

"She's right you know." Orochi said as he flew back into the center of the temple. "Now, give me Kushinada, and maybe I'll let you all live to see the destruction of the human race by my…'human' incarnation." He chuckled, taking another slash at his chest and licking his own blood once more.

Kyo quickly went in front of the downright scared Yuki. "Like hell you monster! You'll have to get through me first!"

Orochi just raised an amused eyebrow, hovering between his remaining Hakketsu Shuu and the rest of the fighters. "A problem easily taken cared of." Molten lava flowed upwards from the center of the place, forcing all of them to jump up and take cover while Ranma placed Chizuru to one side of the temple and was now as busy as hell trying to get to the unconscious Shermie that was currently lying dangerously close to the lava.

The rest of the fighters were getting nowhere fast. Terry and Iori were currently fighting Vice and Mature as they jump around, trying to avoid the flowing lava while Kyo was busy carrying a trembling Yuki to even think of attacking Orochi. That only left Leona and Chizuru. The two worked in tandem, with Leona attacking from above with her vacuum blades and explosive earrings while Chizuru summoned her mirror down below, forcing Orochi to focus on her and just take the blows coming from Leona.

Orochi flew way up and sent multiple black orbs towards the lava, making it explode and burst forth, causing Chizuru and Leona to jump out of the way. "Pitiful humans, you cannot stop a god! You have no chance of survival so just give it up! It's better to die by the hands of a god rather than die by the hands of your fellow humans! Resign to you fa-"

His ramblings were put to a stop when he received a punch in the face, a punch that came from a snarling half-breed, who was currently flying in midair along with him. "A god huh? Then why the hell are you bleeding from just one punch?"

"Flight… no doubt you learned it from your encounter with that miserable little dragon descendant." Orochi snarled, wiping off some blood from his lip. "But you seem to be having a great deal of trouble by just staying afloat, heh, you'll die just like that pathetic dragon for defying me and my will!"

Ranma smirked, panting quite a bit in midair. "Really? That's not what I heard oh, great one. What's the matter? I can hear your disdain towards Herb and his kind. Are you still mad because the dragon beat the living hell out of you and was even successful in killing your other form? To me, it only proves how weak you are!"

"Grr, I wonder when you will shut that big mouth of yours…"

Orochi suddenly vanished from Ranma's view. The ponytailed teen's mobility in the air was really not up to par with the eight-headed god so it was no surprise that Orochi treated him like a rag doll while in midair. "Destiny cannot be altered! The humans shall perish by my hands and there is nothing you can do about it, you lowly half-breed! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"

Repeated slashes to the chest and to the face was what Ranma had to endure as he came crashing down to the ground, almost landing directly on molten lava. Orochi chuckled lightly as he hovered above the heavily bleeding ponytailed teen. "Oh, killing you, Yasakani, Kusanagi, and Yata by my own hands will bring me absolute pleasure but… I think I'd give the honors to somebody else…"

He turned his head to the side and blasted Iori and Terry out of the way. He smiled as he stared at his two remaining, loyal Hakketsu Shuu. "Oh yes… I'll leave the dirty work to my special child…"

Vice screamed when Orochi sent a powerful wave of energy into her. It was not meant to kill her though, it was merely a method of bringing out her true self, a secret that she has kept from everyone, including the Orochi Hakketsu Shuu. She grabbed her throat as she started to cough up large amounts of blood. "No…! Somebody KILL ME!!!"

Her clothes were being torn apart by her rapidly growing fingernails, her eyes glazed over before the pupils vanished, leaving only a yellowish glow. She struggled to get a few words out but they were soon replaced with an inhuman howl, her hair turned into a combination of red and violet, and she has gone deathly pale.

* * *

"No way, she's a pure blood, isn't she?!" Mature gasped in shock, instinctively leaping away from her partner and landing beside the downed ponytailed teen.

Orochi grinned, staring at Vice's Blood Riot form. "Foolish, did she really think that she can hide her precious little secret forever? Having tainted blood, she was ridiculed by those of her clan and was beaten to an inch of her life almost everyday by her parents, who were of pure blood yet their child is not."

Mature looked up to her master. "H-How?!"

Ranma knew the reason for it though, he has some of Orochi's power and memories after all. He coughed up some blood as he growled out, "You did it, didn't you?! You turned her into this! I can sense it!"

"Hahaha! Indeed I did! I was trying to create the ultimate vessel for me to possess, she was just the result of that failure of an experiment. But it was not an entire failure… she did receive a nice side effect after all."

"Side effect?"

Orochi closed his eyes and concentrated, large stones floated around him a few seconds later. "Telepathy of course… that's why she was able to see the memories of the people she has faced in the past and then she could manipulate them at will. Saisyu Kusanagi, the one she brainwashed two years ago and of course, Chris, she recently discovered him to be my other vessel so she 'tweaked' his mind a little in order for me to easily convince him to willingly be my vessel."

"You son of a…"

Vice growled, and hunched over, looking at Mature and Ranma with her now lifeless eyes.

"She has one other use as well… Vice! They have already served their purpose! My child, destroy them all! Leave no one, and I mean no one, alive!!!"

* * *

"Orochi-sama!" Mature gasped out, eyes widening by the second. Fortunately, Ranma grabbed her just in time before Vice came down on her with those claws. The ponytailed teen kept on dodging the redhead until someone finally intervened, and it was none other than Iori, who had a wide grin on his face as he stared back at the Orochi berserker.

"Yagami, what are you…?"

Iori smirked. "I'll take it from here, she and I have a lot to talk about." He said, lunging at the redhead and tearing out a good portion of her skin. "So this is what you were bitching about… bah, like I care! I just want to pay you back for using me, Orochi loyalist!"

While the two get reacquainted with their claws, Orochi watched with interest from up above but had to turn back his attention to the two, fleeing Hakketsu Shuu. He had a sick grin on his face as he held out a hand and sent a black wave of energy that was aimed for Ranma's back as he carried the still shocked blond by the shoulders. The oncoming blast caught Ranma's attention as he looked over his shoulder but he could not react fast enough.

With his eyes closed, he thought of the worst but there was no pain at all besides his wounds from earlier. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at sorrowful blue eyes. He was currently being pinned on the ground by a smiling Mature, who was trembling rather violently as she tried to keep her balance. "Mature? What are you-?"

"Sorry it took me so long. I… I wanted to… be human and live a normal life… but… I couldn't find… the courage… to do so… no matter how hard I tried… I just couldn't push myself to do so…" Mature whispered with a small smile. "Then… then you came… and changed all that…"

Ranma stared at her for a minute before looking at his hand that was holding her. His eyes widened when he saw her blood on it. "No, not again, not again." he muttered as he looked back at Mature and shook his head. "Come on, stop it! You're a strong woman… you can get through this, so please save your strength…"

"No… I know it's my time… Ranma, your strength… the way you hide your suffering to those that didn't know your secret… the way you bear the pain by yourself… never really asking for help… yet… yet you were willing to help others who bear the same curse as yourself… that's what drew me to you…" She gently rested her head on his chest, smiled slightly, and slowly closed her eyes. "I do not regret my past actions but I do wish… I do wish that… I could've met you earlier… Ranma… I love you…"

The ponytailed teen watched as Mature's body fell limp on top of him. His body was shaking uncontrollably, and his eyes were currently looking at the contented smile on the blonde's face. He gently moved her body to the side and knelt beside her. His body shook some more until he gritted his teeth and snapped his head up. "Why? Why do you take everyone away from me?!" he yelled to the heavens before glaring at the floating god that was watching the fight between Iori and Riot of Blood Vice.

"I have to face him, I have to finish it. I will not lose anyone again, I swear…" He took one last look at Mature before standing up and jumping back. He watched as Terry, Leona and Kyo fought Orochi in vain. He ignored them for now, grabbed the unconscious Shermie off the ground and carried her towards Chizuru, who jumped slightly at his sudden arrival.

"Ranma…? What is it?"

Ranma placed Shermie to the side, leaned closer to Chizuru and whispered a few words to her ear that warranted a loud gasp from the priestess. She shook her head for a few seconds before she finally agreed to what Ranma was talking about. A soft light surrounded the two and the ponytailed teen just smiled slightly as he muttered, "I knew it."

He turned around and was about to jump to the fight when Chizuru grabbed his shirt. "Wait! What are you going to do with it? Ranma?" she asked, quite a bit unnerved by his calm demeanor. "Ran-"

Chizuru's eyes widened when Ranma hugged her tightly. Ranma leaned in once more and said a few words to her ear. "It ends here. I'm glad to have met all of you, and I'm glad to have met you…" he trailed off as he pressed the priestess' shiatsu point that instantly knocked her out. "Thank you for making me fight for what I believed in."

As Ranma ran away from Chizuru, Ash stealthily approached the unconscious body of the Kagura priestess. He chuckled as he knelt beside her. "Now, I need to borrow something from you my dear, I hope you don't mind."

He shoved his hand to her chest and surprisingly, it buried itself into her body and it seems as if that he is searching for something inside the priestess' body. After a few seconds, his eyes slowly began to widen in shock and surprise when he came up empty. "It's not here! Where is it? Who has it?!"

Then it suddenly hit him. He looked up and stared at Ranma's back, who was currently running towards Orochi. Ash got up, shook his head and began to chuckle to himself. "He pulled a fast one on me without him even noticing it. Oh well, I'll get it some other time. I wish you the best of luck with what you're about to do, you're going to need it. He is not someone to be taken lightly after all." Ash muttered as he quickly scurried away from the temple.

* * *

"Sai Dai Kyu! Shi Shi Hokodan!"

Orochi found himself dodging the molten lava flowing upwards from the ground, along with a barrage of lightning bolts and purple flames that were homing in on him. What he didn't notice was the depression-based ki, which was being encased in purple flames, was slowly being formed above him and the ponytailed teen.

"Haha, is this the best that my other half could do?" Orochi taunted, gliding seamlessly in the air to avoid the attacks, though he was a bit impressed at how fast Ranma has learned to control his power. He then raised his arm and called out his own flames and the other elements to cancel out the ponytailed teen's attack.

Ranma managed to grab onto Orochi but he had a blank stare as he did so. Orochi struggled to get out but stopped when he finally noticed the descending ball of depression. The white-haired man snarled, raised his arm, and concentrated. "This is nothing to me! Be gone!"

He shot several dark orbs towards it but to his surprise, purple flames blocked the incoming blasts, completely protecting the descending projectile. Said purple flames then encased the depression blast and its descent became even faster, allowing no chance for Orochi to make any more countermoves, though he still had that maniacal grin on his face. "Truly pathetic, I expected more from you."

The two were engulfed within the large ball of ki but Orochi quickly split it in two seconds later. He lifted Ranma up by the shirt and grinned as he touched the teen's cheek with his other hand that was now glowing blue.

"Hmph, it's such a short-lived life."

Chizuru woke up when she heard Ranma's anguished scream. She shook her head and looked around. Shermie was still outcold beside her, Iori was covered in blood as he lies on top of a pillar with an unconscious Vice, Terry was embedded on the wall in front of her, Kyo and Leona were lying on the ground, barely able to move their bodies, and finally, an unconscious Yuki was sprawled a few feet from Ranma and Orochi, where the latter was beating the hell out of the former.

She placed a hand on her chest, closed her eyes and choked back a sob. "It ends here… if that's what you want then I'll help you. The seals placed around the world, I call upon thee… I call upon thy powers to aid thy ancient mirror!"

At various locations around the world, Osaka, Tokyo Tower; Kowloon, China… Pillars of light appeared on all of the locations where the fights for the King of Fighters tournament were held.

Orochi's eyes widened when Chizuru began to glow white and was now slowly floating up and off the ground. "No, I will not be sealed again! I will not be sealed by you humans again!" He dropped Ranma's body on the ground and was about to fly towards the priestess when a greenish light passed right by him, quickly catching his attention.

"What?"

_'What the…? This power…!' _Orochi's thoughts were cut short when another green light traveled past him. He turned to the source of the light and narrowed his eyes to see the person who wields such power. The source was actually very far from his current location but he can still see the person who released it.

A long way from the actual battleground, Ash smirked when he felt Orochi's power in the area. "You must've spotted me by now. I want your power my dear eight-headed friend, and I want it now!" he yelled as he pulled out the pendant from his pocket. The pendant glowed bright green right before shooting another flash of light towards Orochi.

"You!" Orochi shouted, scowling at Ash's smirking figure. He was about to fly to Ash's spot when he suddenly found himself unable to move his body. He looked down and his eyes widened when he saw a huge, circular seal that was placed around the temple of worship. He cursed himself, knowing that he was right in the middle of it. "No… no… the dragon's seal…! Damn you!"

He screamed in pain when he felt something hit him. He looked down once more and saw Ranma holding onto his waist with one arm and the half-breed seemed to be carrying something with his other hand. Orochi's eyes widened when he finally got a good look at it. _'No… the mirror?! Not now!'_ "Are you out of your mind?! With the mirror's boost in power, you'll kill us both!"

"Like I give a damn what happens to me! All I care about now is to destroy you and your goddamn cycle!" Ranma yelled, shoving the Yata mirror onto Orochi's chest. The ponytailed teen's body reacted to it. Basically, the energy released was tearing him inside out, and the same symbol that was on Orochi's chest appeared on his body as well.

Both beings screamed as their bodies were suddenly engulfed in an insurmountable amount of pain. Their flesh were slowly being ripped from their bodies but Orochi was rapidly changing forms as it happened, he was reverting back to Chris every now and then and the brown-haired boy would scream loudly every time it did so.

"We will never allow you to walk this world ever again!" Two sets of voices shouted, one was Ranma's and the other one came from Orochi himself, much to his surprise.

Gaia's harbinger gritted his teeth when his chest suddenly felt like it was on fire. This pain was not coming from the mirror, but from the original host of his body. "Child, you gave your body to me! You sacrificed yourself so that I may walk this world once more!"

"I never gave it to you! You controlled me… you used me! You lied to me about my parents! You lied to me about Ranma not being my friend! He is my friend and I will never trade that for anything you have to offer!" Orochi, or more precisely, Chris said to himself.

Orochi screamed in sheer rage, he was losing this battle and he feels as if that this is a battle that may finally bring him down once and for all. He tried to grab Ranma's neck in hopes to pry him and the mirror off of his body but he mentally cried out in frustration when he can't move anymore. _'Even in your death, you still want to protect these humans, dragon?! Even if it leads to their inevitable self-destruction, that you helped create?!'_ "You fool! The two of us will be permanently destroyed! You must've sensed it by now so stop this thing at once!"

"That's the whole point, moron! Destroyed! We will not be sealed but we will be destroyed instead! The two thousand year old cycle ends here! Our clan ends here! Let's go back to where we came from! Let us go back to Gaia!" Ranma screamed right before a huge pillar of light swallowed them whole.

"If that truly is your answer then so be it… but I will not go down alone, I shall take all of you with me! Let us all return to nothing!" Orochi shouted, releasing all of his power to counter the combined effects of the mirror and his other half.

Iori, Leona, Chizuru, Terry, Yuki and Kyo covered their eyes from the light emanating from where Orochi and Ranma were fighting at. Before anyone could even do anything, the blinding light surged forward, knocking them back down. The light continued to travel around the world, not a single soul avoided the backlash. After the light dispersed, there was nothing but absolute silence…

* * *

**AN: **.........................You're gonna kill me, right? Hear me out first. I'm going to post an epilogue for the Orochi saga that should explain the whole 'what the heck happened?' part. There's no 'punch me in the back so you could seal Orochi' thing, sorry.

Anyway, I think Orochi's power was underrated in the game itself so I decided to give him a boost… okay… a very big power boost, he is considered a god after all so human attacks are almost useless against him now that he's fully awakened and the Yata mirror can contain him, so it should be powerful, but not on the level of Orochi so it required its own boost in the form of those seals.

Sorry about the messy formatting in my fics, I'm still experimenting with ffnet's system, like what other things aren't allowed besides the asterisks, etc…

**Next Epilogue: Past, Present, and Future**


	28. Epilogue

A Ranma ½ King of Fighters crossover fanfiction

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ranma ½ and King of Fighters characters. Especially some macho chick! That's built like a stick! Dumb as a brick! Thighs are too thick! Can't even kick! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Ugh… shutting up now… oi…

**AN:** Okay, it's out, so this should answer that question. Oh, I posted this chap again because the initial post was screwy.

===

_"No sir, we were able to shield ourselves because of the wall standing in between the blast and ourselves. Yes sir, target acquired, it was a success. Yes, our ride is here. We're leaving the area right away. Yes sir, as you wish."_

"U-Uhn…" Chizuru moaned as she started to come to. She tried to get up but her arms surprisingly went limp, making her fall back onto the ground. After a few more tries, she finally managed to stand up but all she saw was the remains of what was supposed to be the temple of worship, the forest surrounding it was scorched as well. _'What happened?'_

"Oohh, my head…" Iori mumbled. He clutched the side of his head for a minute before he lifted the large debris on top of him. Then he was alerted when his other hand bumped into someone beside him. He turned to see that it was none other than a heavily wounded Vice. "Oh, you're still alive, lucky you."

Terry and Leona dazedly tried to regain their composure while Yuki was frantically looking for her boyfriend under the huge amount of rubble in the area. "Kyo? Kyo?! Where are you?!"

Leona ignored any pain she felt and immediately went to the distraught young girl's side in hopes to try and calm her down a bit. Chizuru on the other hand, rushed to a familiar source of power that she just sensed. She painstakingly removed each and every rock and debris in her way until she came across a soft light under a very large stone wall.

With the help of Terry and a very reluctant Iori, they lifted the wall and Chizuru gasped at the scene before her. There was Chris, shaking uncontrollably as a bluish glow surrounded him. But there were absolutely no traces of Orochi, the Yata mirror, or the young man known as Ranma Saotome.

===

_Flames of Destiny_

_By Insane Blight_

**_Past, Present, and Future_**__

* * *

"What are you doing hanging around in this place?"

Chizuru snapped out of her musings and turned around. She smiled sadly when it was none other than Shermie, who was back to her normal self and was looking at back at her with the same sad smile. "It's been awhile… I was just remembering what happened six months ago. The whole thing still feels so surreal, even to me."

Shermie chuckled softly. "Tell me about it. When I woke up, I found myself all tied up inside a medical facility of the Ikari Mercenaries. I freaked because I could barely remember anything at that point so I initially thought that I was still being tortured inside this temple…" she trailed off, kicking a small rock out of the way. "I never thought that I would destroy the place by accidentally calling forth a few lightning bolts…"

"You surprised us all with that one." The priestess giggled. "The Ikari mercenaries panicked when they saw it. Who could blame them? Their superiors were either incapacitated or unconscious at the time, and they knew that they're no match against an Orochi Hakketsu Shuu."

"Please… I don't want to talk about that…"

Chizuru nodded, knowing that it was a delicate subject. "I understand. Anyway, what brings you here? I thought that you still have several concerts to attend to? Did it got cancelled or something?"

The redhead gave her a thankful smile for the change in topic. "No, it's just that my next concert will be held in the newly built stadium in Osaka. I remembered that your home was not too far from there so I thought I should stop by and say hello. But I was kinda peeved when I heard from Reiko that you just left for this place. Since I was already out, I decided to go and meet you here."

"I'm so sorry for causing you this much trouble."

"Nah, it's no problem. To be honest, I needed the exercise. I really don't workout that much anymore." Shermie grumbled as she placed a hand on her side, obviously insecure about her figure.

Chizuru tried to stifle a giggle but to no avail.__

"It's not funny!" she yelled, and then she grinned widely. "Besides, I think you need the exercise more than I do. I mean, look at you, that figure! You seem to have gained a few pounds since the last time I saw you!"

The priestess' eyebrows twitched, but there was a subtle blush on her face that went unnoticed.

Shermie giggled before she blinked when she recalled something. "Oh! I was wondering, where is Chris anyway? I went to your home and found out from Reiko that he wasn't living with you anymore. What happened? What did he do now? Is he okay? You didn't dump him out on the streets, did you?"

"Huh? Oh… him. Well…"

* * *

In Southtown, three figures were walking down a small alleyway, two of them were obviously younger than the third one and they seemed to be arguing about something as they go along.

"Mine!"

"No, it's mine!"

Terry scratched the back of his head as he looked at the two young teenagers with him. Rock, he could understand but he was currently wondering how in the heck he got duped in taking Chris as well, that Kagura can be sneaky when she wants to be. The two young teens were arguing as to who gets to have his hat, he decided after the tournament that it was time for a change so his first act was to change his looks.

Gone were his old clothes which comprised of his sleeveless red jacket and a pair of sports shoes. He was now wearing a brown jacket, which has the words 'running wild' printed on its back, over his white shirt and a pair of brown leather shoes. He did retain his fingerless gloves and his blue denim pants. His ponytail hairstyle was now gone as he cut his hair short. Now, it only reached down his neck, but he did grow his bangs out to cover most of his face.

"I said it's mine!" Rock yelled. He yanked hard at Terry's hat to prove his point.

Chris scowled as he yanked back in response. "No way, blondie! Terry's hat is mine!"

Terry sighed. "C'mon you two, stop that already. Chris, you should just give him the hat. Besides, aren't you a little old to argue about such things, especially with someone who's obviously younger than you?"

Chris flinched. He didn't mean to get into a fight with blondie, he just thought that the hat would look better on him rather than on Rock. _'I have to start getting used to being the older one here…' _he thought with a sigh. He dusted the hat and reluctantly handed it to the younger student. "Here… you can have it."

Rock squealed in delight and immediately wore the hat. He smiled, and then performed Terry's winning pose. "Okay!"

"Hi guys!"

Terry looked up and couldn't help but smile when he saw Blue Mary leaning on a steel fence a few feet ahead of them. The mood however, was quickly broken when the two teens argued yet again. Terry looked at Mary for support but the short-haired blonde could only sweatdrop back at him. "Quite an energetic duo you got there Terry."

"Mary…" he sighed. "You have no idea."

* * *

Chizuru couldn't hold it anymore, so she laughed out loud. "You should've seen the look on Terry's face when he finally came to his senses that day. However, I do wonder how long he will last now that Chris is with him, that boy is, shall we say, interesting to say the least."

Shermie laughed along with her. "He'll get used to him soon enough. Either that or Terry'll have a mental breakdown."

"Too true…"

The redhead bowed her head and glanced down on the pile rubble. "By the way, I heard about Kusanagi's mysterious disappearance after the battle. I thought he went out to train or something but Leona told me that he seemingly dropped off the radar, there were no clues as to what might have happened to him and they can't seem to find neither hide nor hair of him despite their efforts, it's like he just vanished from the face of the earth…"

Chizuru sighed sadly. "Yes, he has been gone for six months. We never did find out if he survived Orochi's final blast or not. There was so much chaos and destruction that it was hard to keep track of everyone at that time."

Shermie shuddered involuntarily. "Don't remind me, I don't want to go through that again. Ever been manipulated by someone before? It's not a nice thing to experience, especially when those circumstances forced me to make a very tough decision. I still hate myself for fighting all of you…"

"It's all in the past Shermie. You've moved on, right? And you're free now, aren't you? No more burdens to bear, and no more pointless fights to partake in."

"I guess you're right."

* * *

"I never thought that you knew someone from the Kusanagi clan, Auntie."

"Well, not directly I assure you, Leona-chan." Nodoka replied with a very noticeable twitch.

"Ohoho! I can certainly attest to that!" Shizuka Kusanagi chuckled. "Nodoka and I were the best of friends ever since her tribe decided to live with humans. We even trained under the same master a few years after she gave birth to little Ranma."

Nodoka frowned when she heard that. "Forced was more like it. That old man sure knows how to fight, considering he was around… what, seventy, or eighty years old?"

Shizuka smiled. "Well, we tried to find out if that shrine had anything related to the Orochi clan back then by sneaking in at night. We were lucky that he didn't call the police when he caught AND defeated the two of us inside the shrine."

"Huh?" Leona said dumbly, not sure where this was going.

"Oh, it's nothing Leona dear, just remembering the past." Nodoka said off-handedly. She then turned and faced her long-time friend. "Anyway, we came here to check up on you and that girl, Yuki. I heard about what happened, your son has been missing for months and Leona told me that all efforts in finding him were all in vain."

Shizuka sighed dejectedly. "Yes, that boy should've at least said goodbye if he was going out by himself. In a way, I can now relate to you, Nodoka. As for Yuki, well, she didn't take it too well. She barely ate anything during the first few days of Kyo's disappearance but she's getting better now, albeit slowly."

"I see… I'm glad to hear that Yuki is snapping out of it. Well, I'm sure he will be back sooner or later; he has his mother's fire in him after all." She assured her friend with a smile.

"Thank you Nodoka. Yes… I'm sure he'll come back… and when he does, he'll receive the mother of all spankings for making his mother worry so much!"

Leona blinked while Nodoka giggled. Soon enough, the three of them were laughing together, until Saisyu Kusanagi walked into the room. The temperature seemed to have dropped a few degrees, well, with Nodoka's icy glare towards the man who tried to kill her little boy all those years ago, it can't be helped. Saisyu tried to respond with a glare of his own but the amount of sweat he was producing killed the desired effect.

"Saisyu…" Nodoka said evenly.

Saisyu flinched, but was able to nod his head. "N-Nodoka." he replied nervously. "Um, oh yes, I forgot to go get the groceries, ha ha, silly me. I'm going out again dear! You three have a lovely time!" he shouted as he hurriedly went out the door.

Silence ensued until Leona shook her head. "This may seem rude Mrs. Kusanagi, but your husband was quite… pathetic. I've seen weasels that have a larger backbone than Mr. Kusanagi."

"Sigh… I know dear, I know."

Behind Leona and Shizuka was a frantic Nodoka, who was busy rolling on the floor as she laughed out loud. She couldn't have said it better herself. Saisyu could even be in the same cowardly league as Genma when it came to certain things.

* * *

"Missing for six months… that's… a bit too much if he was only trying to avoid us. I don't like what Kusanagi is doing to that Kushinada girl if he really did go off to who knows where by himself. She still believes that after all this time, he'll come back someday." Shermie finished sadly. She walked alongside Chizuru as they went up the stairs that leads to the Kagura shrine.

For her part, Chizuru remained silent. This was an all too familiar scenario for the two of them, mainly because a certain someone also went missing after that incident.

Sighing, she ushered her guest inside the shrine, hopefully she could get her to have a tea ceremony while they talk about old times. It was quite ironic that her best friend turned out to be none other than the redhead in front of her. Shermie, an Orochi clan member, one of the eight Hakketsu Shuu, it brought a smile to her face everytime she thought about it. Who would've thought that she'd get along great with her? Now that she thought about it, the four clans never really knew each other…

Beliefs… he was right… it all came down to their beliefs.

Chizuru absently placed a hand on her side, but she quickly removed it. Well, everything seemed to have settled down now, considering all that has happened so far. That final blast by Orochi was definitely not just a light show. It caused a series of problems that opened her mind a little bit more. But regardless, at least peace was back into this world, for the moment anyway. She was not a fool, not by a long shot. She knew that there would always be someone hiding in the shadows, waiting for the right time to try out schemes of their own.

Still, she knew that there are others who have the power to oppose such people. Besides, she has other things to worry about. With that, she smiled and proceeded to offer her guest a cup of tea.

* * *

Kasumi sighed happily as she went through her daily routine. Nabiki has been accepted to a university in America a few weeks ago. Her little sister already left and she seemed to have put the past behind her since there has been no talk about blackmail from her former classmates and friends.

Akane seemed to have done the same, her skills in the art have drastically improved in just a few months and it was all thanks to their father, the father they've known and loved before their mother died. Father was still pretty good in the art, and he and Akane were now teaching the new students in the dojo. There were still some signs of Akane's renowned temper but thankfully, she now has the self-control to avoid lashing out in anger.

As for her, well, she was still taking care of the house, but Akane and her father were now helping her everyday, though she doesn't let her little sister in the kitchen much as of yet. But besides that, she now has the freedom she craved for ever since she took up her mother's responsibilities inside the house, her father wanted it. She has started studying medicine at a local college a few months back, and she was surprised when she found it relatively easy. She guessed that all those books she borrowed from Dr. Tofu paid off.

Speaking of Dr. Tofu, the good doctor was indeed back in Nerima. But there seemed to be something on his mind as of late. His efficiency in treating his patients seemed to have dropped, and it wasn't because of her. In fact, Dr. Tofu doesn't go berserk around her anymore, and that's one of the reasons why she was a little bit wary of him. Why was he asking so many questions about her family anyway? Whatever it was, she has this sinking feeling that it won't be good.

Meanwhile, inside a local clinic in Nerima… too late, he was too late when he arrived. They have already taken her and she didn't resist the whole thing at all. It was exactly as that man, Ash Crimson, said. If he spoke the truth about them that day, then Nerima would truly change in a few years. His own research about those people only confirmed the white-haired man's story even more.

Dr. Tofu removed his glasses and rubbed his temples, what would he say to them? Who can he ask for help? He doesn't want to get 'him' involved into this so that's out of the question. It was useless thinking about it right now; perhaps the answer will come to him someday. _'I hope it won't be too late by then…'_

* * *

"Sigh… it's quite a slow day…" Ukyou muttered. Well, she and Konatsu have managed to get by even when the odds were against them. She now has established herself as a renowned cook throughout Okinawa. Yes, she was still disavowed by her father, but she could care less about such things. That was all in the past, and quite frankly, everyone she knew, save Konatsu, was dead to her.

"Sweeto!" yelled a certain pervert.

Well, almost everyone.

Perverted master met steel spatula as Ukyou slammed it towards the oncoming Happosai. "Dirty old man, go find somebody else to grope!"

Believe it or not, Happosai was the one responsible for her new life. He showed his caring side when he stumbled upon her and Konatsu, passed out due to fatigue. After he saved them, he immediately went for his patented grope when they started to come to but unfortunately for him, he went for Konatsu instead of her. Needless to say, it was his turn to be sick.

Not that she wasn't grateful for what he has done, and she had to admit, he was pretty good company whenever he could control himself. But those were few and far between. She has to come up with an excuse for him to leave her store each and every time or else the she'll lose her customers. Oh well, not that this day was any different. Luckily, she has heard certain rumors in one of the wards in Tokyo about a girl fighting monsters or whatever.

* * *

Inside Tokyo General Hospital, Saotome Genma, who was currently in his cursed form, cringed when he heard the nurse's voice calling his 'other' name. He can move his head a little now but the rest of his body was still dead, and maybe it will be like that until he dies. But he still has feelings on his body, and that was the only thing he doesn't want to have in this hospital. He really wished that he had Soun here so he could at least avoid what awaits him from that nurse from hell. Heck, committing seppuku even sounds better than staying here!

"Oh, Mr. Panda! It's time for your daily checkup!"

Mr. Panda whimpered when he saw a number of large, pointy needles that was placed on the tray the nurse was carrying. He couldn't ask for help from Kami-sama, last time he did that, his room was suddenly struck by lightning, and that was on a sunny day.

The nurse waved a finger at him. "Now, now, I have orders from ALL of the doctors and nurses to administer all of these medicines to you everyday via injection. Your wife especially wants you to get better soon and the best way to recover quickly is to take your medicines, right?"

Genma-panda rapidly shook his head. Whatever did he do wrong? All he ever did was raise that ungrateful boy, train him in the art and he hoped to marry him to one of Tendo's daughters and live off him when he retires. What did he do to deserve such inhuman torture? Oh, what a cruel world we live in! Not only did Ranma disobey him, that ungrateful boy left him for dead! Oh, what a truly ungrateful boy he has raised.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw the smiling nurse ready to give him another painful day. "Now I'll be honest with you, this will really sting, here we go!"

Mr. Panda's screams of agony can be heard a mile away.

* * *

Back in China, Shampoo stood in the middle of what was left of the battleground she and her opponents fought at. Her opponents were two of the Amazon matriarchs which she challenged for the right to be the main leader of the Joketsuzoku. "I have won this battle, now live up to your promise if you have any shred of honor left!"

The elder matriarchs' actions towards Ranma and Mu Tsu really made her furious. She attacked the elders but was unfortunately captured and imprisoned for her actions. Since then, she devoted herself in becoming the best in her tribe. She practiced like a possessed individual for months. Some say that she has already bested Cologne at this young age, it was no small feat especially since Cologne was considered as one of the best in their tribe.

Six months have passed and she has challenged the elders to a match. If she wins, she'll become the one true leader of the amazon tribe but if she loses, they will execute her on the spot. The old prunes were more than happy to accept the challenge. Why shouldn't they? It will finally give them the chance to finally get rid of the largest thorn in their side.

"Y-Yes… you… are the new… head of the Joketsuzoku…"

Shampoo breathed a sigh of relief as she wiped the sweat off her brow. The rest of the amazons cheered the purple-haired girl on, they new that from now on, there will be a lot of changes in their society. Most of them wanted it because the outsider has spoken true that day. Their laws as it stands now will only bring about the downfall of their tribe, the young ones knew it, but the older ones were just too stubborn to admit it.

"Ranma, Mu Tsu, great-grandmother, I did it."

* * *

At the Musk Kingdom, a very irate, white-haired man was shaking in rage as he glared at two people who were frantically bowing and scraping before him.

"Shut up! I told you that my curse is gone so stop bothering me about it!" King Herb of the Musks yelled at his two subordinates.

Mint and Lime looked at their King with teary eyes. "B-b-b-b-but! The treaty with the amazons will not be in effect for at least three more months, what will we do during that time? C'mon Herb, show us your woman form!"

Herb twitched and then sent the two flying towards the cursed springs of Jusenkyo. "If you want to see a woman so badly then go to Jusenkyo and curse yourselves, morons!"

"You have a unique way of handling your friends, Herb."

Herb sighed as he slumped on his throne. He looked at the woman in front of him and he couldn't help but smile at her. "I'm sorry about that. It's just that those two will never get the message unless you literally pound it into their heads, but they have and always will be my friends as long as I live, mother."

The white-haired woman smiled in return. "It's alright my son, I never thought that I would get to see you again after all these years, I never believed that you would still remember me after being gone for so long and I would never have had the courage to come and see you if it wasn't for-"

"Saotome…" Herb finished in an even tone. He got up from his throne and walked towards his mother with a much bigger smile than before. Mother and son hugged each other tightly. Tears threatened to fall from the Musk King's eyes as he thought of the life he has now that his mother was there by his side. _'Heh, you know I'd never say this to your face but… thank you…'_

* * *

"Hey, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I'm sorry if I hadn't visited that often. It's just too painful to come here sometimes. Well, everyone's doing fine, and all of them seemed to have moved on with their lives one way or the other.

Well, the damage he dealt was huge, and that blast was the cause of a lot of deaths, mostly those who were in their vehicles. Still, the chaos he created brought out the darker side of humans, human leaders to be exact. I heard from my mother that during the first three months, there has been nothing but quarrels and arguments, people blaming each other and other countries for this and that because none of them really believed in the 'eight-headed god that tried to destroy the world' story.

The whole thing has quieted now but I guess he got his point across. I'm not backing down on my beliefs but… I guess only time will tell if we will really lead the world to destruction.

Vice is all right now. She actually became a lot calmer now that her secret was out. Though I haven't heard from her in quite awhile, but she did mention that she was hot on the trail of someone, just like Yagami, who is currently searching high and low to find his long-time rival that went missing after that event.

Chris is still an annoyance, what more can I say? I'm starting to regret saving him back then… oh well, the old man will take care of him from now on so I don't have to worry about him anymore. Still, I miss his sarcasm every now and then.

Leona looks pretty good in a lot of ways. I heard that she took some time off from Commander Heidern's assignments so she could spend some time with my mother. Heidern understood her… I think… I couldn't read his face when it came to his daughter quitting the Ikari Mercenaries for a little while. But he did say that he already has a replacement for her, some girl named Whip or something like that, frankly, I don't understand why a person wants to be called by that name. To each their own, I guess…

Shermie is okay too. Now that he's gone, and since her awakening was more or less a forced one, she reverted back to her old self. She, uh, still has feelings for me though, even though she understood that I have developed feelings for someone else during the whole ordeal. Anyway, the whole thing doesn't stop her from teasing me whenever she has the chance. Sigh… though I can still see the pain in her eyes whenever I'm with the one that I care for… just like you when I caught you watching me once…

…oh boy, this is tough… I didn't know what to make of it back then. And I do love you, but… I saw you as an older sister. I… I… oh man… I'm not really good with this sort of thing…

Sigh, anyway, I thought you might like to know this. Chizuru told me about the whole thing between you and her. Her mother and a few other Yata clan members really did order the search for the remaining Orochi clan members and they did execute them as soon as possible, even if they're women or children. Her father was against it though… well, she wasn't asking for forgiveness, but she just wants you to understand that not all of them were against our clan, just as our clan is not entirely against humans.

…but I know that you'll find it in your heart to forgive them someday…

As for me, well, I really thought that I died back then, but it turned out that I was inside a void of nothingness together with him. Both of us were badly wounded and in my opinion, wouldn't last for more than five minutes, especially since the mirror was right in between the two of us and the damned thing was slowly pulling us in. We simply stared at each other, well… I was pretty much glaring at him the whole time.

It was like a battle of wills until he simply smiled at me. It wasn't one of those so-called evil smiles, but it was like an actual, caring smile, something like a father would give to his child, I don't know, I never really had a father figure other than Terry, yes, that damned Panda I talked to you about doesn't count. Terry rarely smiled during the time I spent with him, but after hearing the reason from him recently, I don't regret doing those things to Geese as much as I did before.

Heh, when Terry did smile, I couldn't help but smile back.

Back to the story, next thing I knew, I found myself lying in the middle of a crowded street in Tokyo, but oddly enough, three months have already passed since then. I remember it clearly though, he was the one that sent me back to this place, I know that with his last ounce of strength, he brought me back, and, well… what happened inside the void is another story altogether."

Ranma sighed, stretching his arms a little. He was back to normal, aside from a few whites at the tip of his hair, and his somewhat new look, he was definitely back. His Chinese clothes were gone, replaced by a more casual look in the form of a loose, long-sleeved shirt, dark-blue pants, a pair of black leather shoes, and a long trenchcoat. Don't ask, just don't ask, it was a certain priestess' idea for him to dress up like this. His eyes were, oddly enough, grayish blue with a tint of red along the sides.

He slowly walked down the small hill he was on. "I have to go… I still have things to do, promises to keep, I hope you understand." He glanced over his shoulder and looked back at the grave atop the small hill with a smile. "I'll see you around."

* * *

"I'm sorry Chizuru but I have to go, duty calls." Shermie said sadly. She got up from her place and grabbed her purse from the table.

Chizuru gave her a small smile. She shook her head and carefully placed her teacup on the table as she got up and led her friend towards the door. "The life of a singer can be hard at times, ne?" she asked teasingly.

The redhead nodded, albeit tiredly. "Tell me about it. I barely get to spend any time with my friends much less allow myself to relax a little but work is work. But regardless, I love singing and I like it even more now that I don't hear their, I guess you can call them 'souls' when I perform in front of them like I used to when I was still apart of CYS. All in all, I love my life as it is and I'm more than happy with the way things turned out in the end, it could have ended a lot differently you now."

"I know what you mean, Shermie. I know what you mean…"

Shermie smiled playfully as she placed a finger on her chin. "If it bothers you so much, you could leave him to me. I promise that I'll take good care of him. You do know that I still have some feelings left for him, right? Hmm… I wonder what it's like to live together with him. Me and him, that handsome face of his and those sparkling blue eyes, god! Chizuru, c'mon, let me borrow him for a day or two, it'll be fun!"

"NO! I-ahem… that's not what I meant Shermie. Even though he has the tendency to stick his foot in his mouth at times, and even though it took him a few months to admit his feelings, mine still hasn't changed. Besides, the real him is nothing like the sad, lonely, shell of a man I met long ago and hey, we already talked about your relationship with him before, remember?" Chizuru asked with an icy stare, it looked like somebody has been learning the soul of ice.

Shermie held both hands up and quickly did a warding gesture. "Relax, I was just kidding! Who knows? Maybe if things went a little different, I might have been the one who ended up with him instead. But it didn't go that way so all I can do was wish the two of you the best of luck." she sighed out loud. "It still hurts when I think about it, but we have to move on with our lives, right?"

"Shermie…"

The two were quiet for awhile until the redhead finally reached the front gate, with Chizuru a couple of steps behind her. She turned and faced the Kagura priestess with a smile. "Well, it's been a pleasure talking with you again. It's too bad that he wasn't around this time, but I promise that the next time I'm gonna to visit, I'll let you know in advance. I'll see you later!"

"Alright… Goodbye Shermie!"

* * *

_Rivalries Ended…_

"Oh my god… you're actually right on time!" Ranma gasped in mock surprise at the man in front of him. "Maybe it really was the end of the world six months ago. Either that or I'm really dead and currently in hell like you always say…"

The man bopped him hard on the head for that. "Stop joking Ranma! You very well know that my sense of direction has improved since my time in Nerima."

Ranma smirked. "Yeah, yeah, maybe your improved sense of direction is because of how Akari plays with her cute little sumo piggy on the bed. Oh? Did I get it right, Ryoga? What's wrong lost boy?"

"Don't tempt me Ranma…" Ryoga growled, a sickly green aura forming around him.

"Whoa, wait a minute! Can't you take a joke?"

After his return from the void, Ranma took it upon himself to handle a number of his problems inside and outside of Nerima, and Ryoga was the first one on his list. The former lost boy begrudgingly admitted that he was nowhere near Ranma's level at that point so they agreed to wait for a few months to continue their fight. They've actually gotten along pretty good during that time span, most likely because of the constant coaxing from the women in their lives.

The two never have gotten themselves cured of the Jusenkyo curse. It wasn't because there was no nannichuan, no, the Jusenkyo guide sent Ranma more than enough to cure him and Ryoga. It was because they didn't want to be cured. For Ranma it was because he saw his curse as just another challenge in his already interesting life and for Ryoga, well, Akari will miss her number one pig if he did get himself cured. Besides, he has gotten by and he became a lot more resilient due to his curse.

"Shi Shi…"

"Hey! Wait a sec!"

"Hokodan!"

Ranma crossed his arms to block the ki blast. He grinned as he looked up and saw Ryoga smirking back at him. This was it, the one where they will give it everything they have. "You're not all that depressed anymore, remember? Eheh, you've gotten stronger anyhow. Well, ready to take me seriously this time?"

Ryoga cracked his knuckles. "Yeah, I've been waiting for this for a long time. Besides, I made a promise to someone, and I intend to keep it! Heh, no matter who wins…"

"This is going to be…" Ranma continued. The smirk on his face was widening by the second. He then encased his hand with his purple flames. Ryoga on the other hand, covered his with pure ki. The two friends, rivals, whatever you may call it, charged at one another. There was no anger, no hatred or malice in their eyes, only absolute respect for the other.

"…the last one!"

* * *

_Rivalries Renewed…_

"This is the place." Iori muttered to himself. He was currently at the main entrance to a hidden laboratory, a place where his search for Kyo took him. _'Heavily guarded facility my ass, they don't even have guards or surveillance cameras at the main gate.'_

He casually stepped inside and walked down the corridor. After a few minutes, he found himself surrounded by several armed individuals. He couldn't help himself; he laughed his heart out as he gazed at all of them. "Well, are you guys ready to die? Because I sure as hell know that I'm not the one who's going to."

Iori charged at the person in front of him, barely evading the bullet that was fired at him. He clamped his hand onto the person's head and quickly turned around and used the unlucky person as a human shield to protect himself from the rain of bullets. He threw the obviously dead person to one of the guards before he burned the rest of them with his purple flame. "Bah, told you so."

A few minutes passed and after a lot of fighting for his part, Iori somehow ended up in a darkly lit room. He turned on the lights and almost lost his balance when he saw Kyo… lots of Kyo. _'What the hell is this?! Are these guys clones or something?!' _His thoughts were interrupted when the Kyo clones all turned and faced him with one helluva irritating smirk, and that was all he could take.

"Kyooo!"

What happened after that was not for the weak of heart. Iori tore through the clones with an impressive display of strength that he would normally have during his Riot of Blood. He snarled and was about to leave the room when he noticed something on a monitor.

_NESTS project report no. 0715_

_Ranma Saotome: Orochi clan member and controls the element of fire, unsuitable for the project._

_Iori Yagami: The best specimen for the experiment but like Ranma Saotome, his blood is too unstable._

_Kyo Kusanagi: He wields the legendary magatama. His blood is perfect for the project._

"NESTS? Grr, damn you!"

After a few more minutes destroying the facility, Iori exited the place a lot more pissed than before. "Dammit, I'll take you all down for interfering! You goddamn bastards!"

"From your excessive amount of cursing, I take it he wasn't there?"

Iori glanced at the person leaning against a tree and scoffed. "Oh, he was there alright, around ten or so of him, possibly even more if they cloned him at different places. Bastards… how about you? What happened to your search for the man with white hair?"

"Clones, eh? That certainly is an interesting turn of events." Vice wondered before she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, unlike you, I can't find any signs of him anywhere. I'm positive that I saw him going after Yata before we knocked ourselves out fighting in the temple. Well, what are you gonna do now?"

Iori simply looked at her. "Isn't it obvious?"

Vice shook her head and smiled. "Right, sorry I asked. Say, mind if I join you? I know that you haven't quite forgiven me with the stunt I pulled six months ago but… please?"

"............It's your funeral."

* * *

"Come in."

Ash smiled as he opened the door to a small house at a remote village in China. His smile turned into a frown when he saw the two figures in front of him, one was a male teenager that was sleeping on the bed while the other was a young woman that was seated beside the bed, watching the other one with worried eyes. "I see that he's getting worse ever since being seriously injured a few months back."

The woman nodded despondently. "Yes. No matter how hard he tries, his body just can't control it. And with his recent contact with one of that beast's blood, his body reacted even more. But enough of that, were you successful in doing what I asked? You did go by the whole ordeal undetected right?"

"Mmm… not exactly… I had to interfere directly in some places because of a few unwanted circumstances that you have not foreseen, old hag." Ash quickly ducked to avoid a round energy ball. "Alright, alright, I'll stop the name calling. Yes, I did manage to absorb just enough of his power when he released that blast six months ago. It's all in here." He pulled out the pendant and presented it to the woman. "You know, you could've warned me about the traps inside that damned cave, it would've saved me a lot of trouble."

The woman ignored Ash's mumblings and grabbed the pendant that was emitting a mixture of green and purple glow. "Yes, this is just about enough for the transfer to take place."

"Really? Hmm, but I have to ask, are you sure you want to give it to me? I mean, without even asking that guy beside you? He is the one that's going through with this transfer you know."

The woman sighed dejectedly as she brushed the man's bangs aside. "I know I have no right to do this to him but… I can't, I simply can't bear to see him suffer everyday and every night. He may hate me for this act when he does find out what I've done, but if it means that he'll have no more problems then I would gladly do it." She wrapped the pendant around the man's hand and said, "Well, are you ready Ash? Just hold his hand and it will be over soon."

Ash complied and soon enough, he found himself falling to his knees due to the pain he was receiving. It only took a few seconds but for him, it really did feel a lot longer than that. He let go of the hand and panted heavily on the floor. He shakily stood up, shook his head, and held out both hands. A green flame appeared on one hand and a purple flame appeared on the other one. A half-second later, the two flames combined into one hand and Ash winced a little from the pain it gave off. "I… guess… it was a success…"

"Yes, you are now its bearer. With your unique powers, I have little doubt that you'll have any problems containing it. And if all goes well, I hope that he and the old man will never know the difference between a fake from the real thing… thank you so much Ash for doing me this favor."

"The pleasure is all mine… Athena."

Ash walked out of the house and gazed at the sky. He closed his eyes and smiled as he felt the wind blew past his hair. "Dragon spirit, eh… but, was destroying one of the most powerful beings to ever walk this planet the right thing to do when another being of equal footing has started to awaken because of it?"

* * *

Speaking of which, in a place covered in darkness, a large man stood before the kneeling figure in front of him. "I'm glad that you chose to accept your fate and left your adoptive human family forever. Now rise, we have a lot to do before we set the plan in motion. The surprising turn of events has altered our plans significantly, but we do have information that Yata still has the mirror in her possession."

Several strings appeared out of nowhere and formed around the kneeling figure's hands. "I understand, when will you order me to do the job?" The female voice, which turned out to be the one Ash called puppet master, asked.

"In due time, but for now, we wait for the mirror keeper to be weakened once more." The large man replied before he walked back into the darkness. "You could watch Ranma Saotome if you like, I'm sure you have a fairly large score to settle with that Orochi descendant."

"Yes, a score to settle. You're right about that, Mukai." The figure stood up and chuckled at Mukai's retreating figure. She took a step forward and the woman revealed herself as none other than the middle Tendo girl. "A very large score to settle…"

Nabiki got up, turned around and walked away, her face showing little to no emotion. How could her so-called father keep this from her? Soun stole her from her real mother… though the reason behind it was never clear, it sounded like something Genma might do. She never really thought that Soun had the guts to do that. Be it as it may, she chose not to kill him and his real daughters. It would be fun to watch what they'll do without her in the future.

Still, that damned Ash Crimson acted too much like a certain pigtailed boy when facing an opponent. She was humiliated by him. Granted that she was still new to her abilities but she simply cannot let him get away with it, her pride would not allow it, but right now, she has other business to take care off.

_'Saotome, I guess that luck of yours saved you yet again. I'm not going to ruin your life any further. I'll simply watch from the sidelines, your chaotic life is basically entertainment for me.'_

* * *

"Eh? Shermie visited? Why didn't she wait for me?" Ranma asked curiously, he flinched a bit when Chizuru tried to touch the wounds on his face.

"You know how busy her life is at the moment, and would you rather see her looking like that? You look like you've just been to a war or something." Chizuru said with a frown as she wiped the dirt off of Ranma's face with a piece of cloth.

Ranma pouted, but had the decency to look down. "Sorry, but I just had to settle the long-standing rivalry with Ryoga once and for all or else he'd start hunting me down again." he said with a small smile. "You'd never have guessed what happened in that one."

Chizuru giggled softly and then she gently pinched Ranma's cheek. "Oh, I don't know, you lost?" she joked, but blinked when the ponytailed teen just looked at her with the same expression. "You really… lost?" she asked once more, puzzled and shocked at the same time. Well, the person she was looking at did stop a god six months ago, so her shock was certainly justified.

"Heh, yeah, funny thing is… I was right into the fight until the last moment." He explained while Chizuru placed the cloth to the side and sat down beside him, a puzzled look still creasing her face. "I began to question myself. Why was I fighting him? What more do I have to prove? Do I still fight to be the best now that everything is back to normal?" he paused before continuing. "It's true that it was once my goal in life but now…"

"Now?"

Ranma took a deep breath and looked up. "Now, after everything that I've seen, after all of the things that have happened, I really don't see myself fighting for that reason. Call me senile, but I think that it was all a childish dream, then and now."

Chizuru wondered, looking up as well. "That was your goal in life huh? It sounds just like you. So what about now? What is your new goal in life?" she inquired, not looking at the ponytailed teen.

Ranma coughed a few times, and fumbled with his fingers. "I, er, um… I, ah… dammit…" _'Three months and I still can't say it! Even though she and I have been through a lot already, and I do mean A LOT. Darn, are you really a wuss, Ranma?!!' _he fumed at that last thought because, well, Yagami was the one that said it to him when he couldn't admit his feelings back then.

The priestess pouted slightly, before a playful grin appeared on her face. She pointed to the side as she casually said, "Oh look! A cute little kitty wants to play with you!"

"Huh? That's nice, now where was I… oh yeah, my goal in life. I, um.................. Eh? Ahhhhh! C-C-C-C-Cat! W-Where?! Where?!" he yelled, jumping a good thirty feet into the air and accidentally destroying a large portion of the roof. He growled when he noticed Chizuru trying to control her laughter. "It's not funny! You know what I'm capable of in that state, especially since after my fight with him!"

"Erm, you're right. I'm sorry Ranma, I was out of line." She said, but her playful smile didn't disappear. She grabbed the descending ponytailed teen and quickly tackled him into a nearby pond. What happened after that was not the one she expected. The water suddenly became boiling hot, she had to jump out of it so that she would not get burned.

Ranma got up and smirked at the priestess. "Nice try, but still too predictable."

Chizuru turned around and began to visibly shake as she wrapped her arms around her waist, which made Ranma cringe for a very damn good reason. "That's mean Ranma, what if she got hurt? Don't you care about her well-being?" she sobbed, rubbing her stomach a little.

Yup, exactly what he feared. Well, after his return to this world, his mother held quite a big party. What happened during that party? Well, in all honesty, he had absolutely no idea, and he has Chris to thank for that. The little runt sneakily spiked his drink. Next thing he knew, he wound up in bed with Chizuru! The runt seemed to have done the same thing to her drink as well. It wasn't a surprise when a few weeks later, he found out that she was pregnant.

Reactions varied amongst the group when he explained it to them. A smile from Yagami, don't really know what was so amusing at the time. Chris laughed his head off, despite him choking the life outta the runt. Terry just congratulated them and told the two that at least they were not completely against it. Heh, he finally shut up when Blue Mary got dangerously close to him. Leona did the same and congratulated them while his mother was in a total euphoric state, muttering something about grandchildren over and over again, she can be so weird at times.

He hasn't told Shermie yet, but he has a distinct feeling that she knew it already. Chizuru was surprisingly happy with it, and to be honest, so was he. He knew he would wimp out when something like this was about to happen, that's why he hasn't made any sort of moves on her. Oh well, at least the incident brought them closer than ever before, he can thank his mother for that. She told him to live with Chizuru the minute she heard that she was pregnant, or else… ah, everyone knew the rest.

"It's not that Chizuru! I didn't…! I mean that I… um… oh man, Yagami was right, I am a wuss…" he was cut off when Chizuru smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as she pulled him in for a kiss. The two parted a few moments later, blushing like crazy. "Wow… I didn't expect that…"

Chizuru rested her head on his chest as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "You know, we've been through a lot, huh?"

"Heh, tell me about it." Ranma chuckled. Then he turned serious as he held her close. "No one knows the real truth about Orochi's destruction, no one except for the two of us." he whispered to her ear.

"Yes, and no one else will ever know about it." She whispered back.

Ranma smiled as he broke their embrace. He took a few steps back and closed his eyes. A white glow surrounded his body as the Yata mirror slowly went out of his chest. He gently cupped it and the two gazed at it for a little while. Chizuru gasped a bit when the mirror emitted a violet glow before it went back its normal state.

"The mirror is now my life… and Orochi… Orochi dies with me…" he whispered as the Yata mirror went back inside his body.

"No…" Chizuru quickly interrupted. She held Ranma's hand and gripped it tightly. "Orochi, the battles between the clans, all the suffering, all of it… all of it, dies with us. You're not alone anymore, remember that." She finished by giving him a comforting smile.

His lips quivered, and tears threatened to fall from his eyes when he heard that. He smiled back as he embraced her with no hesitation whatsoever. She was right. She will always be there for him, and he will always be there for her. This was the life he wanted, and he will never let anyone ruin his newfound happiness with her. "Thank you… thank you…"

* * *

**AN:** Owari! The Orochi saga finally comes to a close. Why an open-ended ending? Well, I'm starting to wonder if KOF itself will ever have a true ending. It does provide continuity to the NESTS saga and so on but with a few alterations regarding Ash, Mukai, and a few others during the next couple of tournaments.

Anyway, it still brings a closure to the Orochi saga. I also made Nabiki the 'puppet master', the one who controlled a certain someone with her strings in KOF 2003. (Hey, she looks a lot like her so why not?) It's been quite a long ride, and I do hope everyone enjoyed reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Ja ne minna!

**Next What? There's a next?**

_"Of course there is! You'll write some more, right Luc?" Chris asked, purple flames in hand._

_"Ah, er, I still have to finish my other fics first so it'll be a long time if I do decide to write more… ah! Stop it! The pain! The pain!"_


End file.
